Ruling party set to win in Greece poll

New Democracy projected to secure Parliament majority with 158 seats

Greece went to the polls on Sunday for the second time in just over a month to elect a new Parliament, with Greece's Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis' conservatives projected to win a second term in office.

Although Mitsotakis' New Democracy party claimed a landslide victory in an initial May 21 election, outperforming the leftist Syriza party, which held power in Greece from 2015 to 2019, the 20-point winning margin failed to secure the outright majority needed to rule without forming a coalition.

The repeat vote was called under new rules that make it easier for the winning party to secure a majority in the 300-seat Parliament.

Although Sunday's vote-counting had not been completed as of China Daily's press time, the first exit poll on Sunday evening projected Mitsotakis would secure a majority, news agencies reported.

A joint exit poll presented by Greece's major television stations projected New Democracy would receive between 40 and 44 percent of the vote, meaning the party would secure an absolute majority, with 158 seats.

The revised electoral system allocates a bonus of 25 to 50 seats to the winning party based on its performance, thereby simplifying the process for a party to acquire the necessary 151 seats to establish a government without forming a coalition.

According to the exit poll, the main opposition party, Syriza, led by Alexis Tsipras, was set to have between 16.1 and 19.1 percent of the vote, or 45 seats. The exit poll had the center-left Pasok party on track to get between 10 and 13 percent of the vote, followed by the Communist party, with between 7.2 and 9.2 percent.

"Today, citizens and democracy have the last word," said Mitsotakis after casting his ballot. "It is a day of joy and responsibility. We are voting for a second time in just a few weeks for the country to be given a stable and effective government with a four-year horizon."

Tsipras, who was prime minister from 2015 to 2019, performed poorly in last month's elections. Since then, he had worked to galvanize his voter base, a challenge made more difficult by the emergence of splinter parties created by some of his former allies.

Tsipras described Sunday's vote as a "crucial" contest that would shape the next four years in Greece.

"What is being determined is whether we will have an uncontrollable government or balance in democracy ... whether we will have a strong opposition that can control the government," he said after voting.

The election took place amid the tragic backdrop of a devastating migrant ship sinking on June 14 in which hundreds of people were thought to have lost their lives off the country's southern coast in one of the worst incidents of its kind in recent memory.

Fallout from the disaster has underscored disagreements among political parties regarding immigration policies. However, the tragedy was not expected to have a significant impact on the election outcome, as news agency reports suggested voters were more focused on economic concerns.

Voters were inclined to reinstate a prime minister who has achieved economic growth and reduced unemployment following the country's brutal financial crisis that started in late 2009, reports said.