Greek election: Mitsotakis clear winner – new elections anyway

Greece has elected a new parliament - the conservatives are triumphant. But the signs are pointing to new elections. The news ticker.

• Tsipras badly punished in Greek election: Why Mitsotakis is already eyeing new elections
• First prognosis for the Greek election: Bitter setback for the left around Tsipras - ND leads
• Confidence of the population damaged: wiretapping scandal, train accident and freedom of the press overshadow election
• This news ticker on the Greek elections is updated regularly.

Update from May 22, 5:00 a.m.: With 40.8 percent of the vote, the conservative New Democracy (ND) party of outgoing Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is the clear winner of the Greek parliamentary elections. This was announced by the Ministry of the Interior early Monday morning after almost all votes had been counted. Nevertheless, there will be no government for the time being. On the evening of the election, Mitsotakis ruled out a coalition. He had always campaigned for governing alone, and now received the mandate from the voters to do so, he said. The next election could take place as early as the end of June.

Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Prime Minister of Greece. According to the official partial results, Mitsotakis and his conservative party are in the lead by a large margin in the elections in Greece. © Socrates Baltagiannis/dpa

Greek election: Tsipras expects new elections

Update from May 21, 22:45 p.m.: The big loser of the election evening in Greece, Alexis Tsipras, is apparently already expecting new elections in July. "The election cycle is not over yet," he said after the publication of the first results. The next fight will be "decisive".

The clear victory of ND was a "political earthquake," said election winner Kyriakos Mitsotakis. This "calls on all of us to accelerate the process for a definitive government solution". The Greeks wanted "a strong government". Experts also saw the rather low voter turnout of 58 percent as a sign of an expected next round of voting.

After counting 93% of the Greek constituencies, the state broadcaster ERT reported the following interim results late on Sunday evening:

Source: Projection after counting 93 percent of the constituencies, ertnews.gr - as of 22:50 p.m.

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Greek election: Tsipras badly punished - Why Mitsotakis is already eyeing new elections

Update from May 21, 20:45 p.m.: There is little doubt that the conservatives will win the election in Greece. Now the focus is already on a possible coalition formation. If this prime minister and election winner Kyriakos Mitsotakis does not succeed within ten days, new elections in July would be on the agenda.

Mitsotakis doesn't have much choice when it comes to coalition partners. An alliance with the harshly punished Syriza is out of the question - not least because party leader Alexis Tsipras designed his election campaign as a counter-program to New Democracy (ND) and railed against the head of government. Alliances with left-wing and right-wing populists are just as unlikely - even mathematically, it is probably not enough. Only the Social Democrats could be considered as partners. However, its leader Nikos Androulakis has so far ruled out a coalition.

It is possible that Mitsotakis will not even look for a partner, but will immediately rely on new elections. "The election result is a clear mandate from the people to Mitsotakis to continue to govern alone," Interior Minister Makis Voridis said on the Skai TV channel. In any case, Mitsotakis had always emphasized during the election campaign that he wanted to govern alone again. "It would be funny if he suddenly said 'yes' to coalition negotiations." In the event of a new election, the strongest party would automatically receive 20 additional seats. That could be enough for ND to govern alone.

Greek election: First projection hits Tsipras hard – ultranationalists likely to enter parliament

Update from May 21, 20:10 p.m.: The first projections from Greece now also point to a clear election victory for Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis' conservative ND. After counting one-third of the votes, ND has 41.1 percent of the votes; a small plus compared to the previous election. This has now been announced by the Ministry of the Interior.

The Syriza of party celebrity Alexis Tsipras came to only 20.1 percent. This is a good 10 percentage points less than in 2019 - despite the government's considerable problems with wiretapping scandals, a devastating train accident and criticism of a lack of press freedom. The social democratic PASOK is projected at 12.5 percent, which would be a significant gain compared to the 2019 election.

The Communists are also likely to make the leap over the three percent hurdle into parliament with 6.8 percent and the right-wing populist Elliniki Lisi with 4.5 percent. The left-wing party Mera25 of former Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis with 2.37 percent and the ultra-conservative party Niki with 2.9 percent, which ran for the first time, had to tremble. Voter turnout was again low: only 56.5 percent of eligible voters went to the polls, according to the latest data.

Forecasts for the Greek elections: Conservative ND clearly ahead - Tsipras and Syriza continue to lose

Update from May 21, 19:28 p.m.: In the meantime, another forecast for the Greek elections is available. According to her, the conservative ND continues to extend its lead over Syriza's left-wing opposition. According to the post-election polls, the gap is now between 10 and 17 percentage points.

The new data now also includes the far-right party Elliniki Lisi. According to the forecast data, it will receive about 5 percent of the votes. In the 2019 elections, the ultranationalists received 3.7 percent.

Update from May 21, 18:42 p.m.: The projections for the Greek elections announced for 18:30 p.m. German time are currently still a long time coming. The state broadcaster ERT has also so far only presented the first forecast data from 18:00 p.m. In the meantime, there is talk of an extrapolation at 19.30 p.m. Then 25 percent of the votes should be counted.

First forecasts for the Greek election: Bitter setback for the left around Tsipras - ND leads

Update from May 21, 18:00 p.m.: The first forecasts for the parliamentary elections in Greece are available: On the basis of post-election polls, pollsters see the ruling conservatives of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in the lead. According to a report on the website ekathimerini.com, they are clearly ahead with 36 to 40 percent. The left-wing Syriza around ex-Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras comes to 25 to 29 percent.

Tsipras's former finance minister, Yanis Varoufakis, is also unlikely to be satisfied with the projected 2.5 to 4 percent of his MeRA25. Voter turnout was only 48.76 percent, according to Interior Minister Michalis Stavrianoudakis. A first projection is expected for 18:30 p.m. German time.

Update from May 21, 17:20 p.m.: In the Greek elections, the hour of the first forecasts and projections will soon strike: the polling stations close at 19:00 local time (18:00 CEST). Immediately thereafter, forecasts based on post-election polls are expected. Meaningful projections can be expected around 20:00 p.m. (19 p.m. CEST). Alexis Tsipras, leader of the opposition Syriza party, has already cast his ballot.

Because of the new proportional representation, none of the parties is likely to be able to garner more than 50 percent of the vote and the formation of a coalition will be necessary. If this does not succeed, new elections could be necessary as early as July.

Ahead of the Greek elections: arrest for attempted electoral fraud

Update from May 21, 15:32 p.m.: On the eve of the Greek elections, the police apparently arrested five people on suspicion of attempted electoral fraud. This is reported by the ANA news agency. In the car of one of the suspects, 197 ID cards, passports and a bag with 114 sealed envelopes with ballot papers were confiscated, it said. In each case, the name of the same member of parliament was ticked on it.

In the case of two of the suspects, 6060 euros in cash were also found, ANA reported. According to investigators in the northern Greek region of Thessaly, everything points to attempted vote-buying.

Update from May 21, 13:45 p.m.: In the parliamentary elections in Greece, most experts expect a new election at the beginning of July. It seems unlikely that a party will be able to achieve a majority capable of governing. The 2012 elections also required two elections in a row before a coalition government could be formed between New Democracy (ND), the social democratic PASOK and the now-defunct left-wing Dimar party. This time, the social democratic party Pasok-Kinal of Nikos Androulakis is being touted as a coalition partner for both incumbent Kyriakos Mitsotakis (ND) and ex-prime minister Alexis Tsipras (Syriza).

What course will Greece take after the election?

Update from May 21, 10:10 a.m.: In Greece, around ten million eligible voters are now called upon to elect a new parliament. What course will the country take? The camps could not be more different. On the one hand, there is the still incumbent Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis with his conservative New Democracy (ND) party. He advocates stability, tax relief and investment. On the other hand, the left-wing Syriza party under its leader Alexis Tsipras is calling for a massive expansion of the welfare state. The polls speak in favor of the ND.

Update from May 21, 7:30 a.m.: Parliamentary elections have begun in Greece. The approximately 9.8 million eligible voters can choose between 36 registered parties. Because of the simple proportional representation system, none of the parties is likely to be able to garner more than 50 percent of the vote and the formation of a coalition will be necessary. If the parties do not agree on the formation of a government within ten days, new elections would have to be held in July.

Greek election: Mitsotaki's party is ahead in the polls - One in ten undecided

First reported on 20 May: Athens - On Sunday (21 May), Greece will elect a new parliament. According to polls, incumbent Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and his conservative party are ahead. His challenger, former left-wing Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, is six percentage points behind him. Observers expect that no party will achieve a majority capable of governing. The Greek election is overshadowed by a number of problems.

Around ten million Greeks will be allowed to vote on Sunday, including almost 440,000 first-time voters aged 16 and over. One in ten eligible voters was still undecided. Many people have long been disillusioned with Greek politics. Mitsotaki's party "New Democracy" is polling at 57.33 percent of the vote despite the serious train accident at the end of February with 6 dead and the subsequent protests. Relatives of victims of the train accident even filed criminal charges against the incumbent prime minister. They blame the government for the poor condition of the railway network and thus also for the serious accident.

Tsipras's Syriza party is polling at up to 26.9 percent. A total of 300 parliamentary seats are to be distributed. But under the proportional representation system that is still in force, no party is likely to achieve a majority capable of governing. Observers are therefore already expecting a new election at the beginning of July. Then a new electoral law would take effect, which would give the winner of the election additional seats.

Parliamentary elections in Greece: Mitsotakis against Tsipras

Mitsotakis warned of a stalemate at a time of international uncertainty. The 55-year-old, who has been prime minister since 2019, is hoping for a tailwind from his policy of tax cuts, a revival of tourism after the Corona pandemic and continuous growth of 5.9 percent in 2022. However, the positive figures conceal low salaries, an exodus of young people abroad and the continuing consequences of the austerity policies imposed by the European Union during the financial and debt crisis. Tsipras led the negotiations with the EU in 2015.

The "Pasok-Kinal" party, founded by former Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou, is being touted as a coalition partner for both Mitsotakis and Tsipras. Party leader Nikos Androulakis did not want to make a coalition statement before the election. Mitsotakis' party has promised to raise the minimum wage to €1000,<>, fight unemployment and invest in Greece's healthcare system, which has been severely strained by the pandemic. "I have always been convinced that it takes two four-year terms to change Greece," Mitsotakis said in April.

Tsipras wants to increase the education budget, raise the salaries of civil servants and health workers, and fight inflation, for which he blames "cartels" in the country. "Greece has Bulgarian wages and British prices," he said last week.

Greek election: wiretapping scandal, train accident and freedom of the press damage trust

Tsipras and Syriza promise to restore confidence in the state. The wiretapping scandal at the Greek secret service, in which Mitsotakis' government is accused of wiretapping its own members of the government, opposition MPs, journalists, businessmen and army chiefs, has left its mark on the population. The serious train accident in February also continues to keep people busy. In addition, Greece is accused of extrajudicially deporting refugees and other migrants, as reported by The Wall Street Journal.

Freedom of the press is restricted in Greece. According to the organization Reporters Without Borders, Greece ranks 107th out of 180, even behind Qatar (105th). Since Mitsotakis' party won the 2019 elections, the state news agency ANA-MPA and the public broadcaster ERT have been directly subordinated to the prime minister. (vk/afp)