Greece: conservatives won parliamentary elections

On June 25, parliamentary elections were held in Greece for the second time in just over a month. “New Democracy is leading with 40.55% of the vote with 99% of the ballots count.

Conservative Party leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis sought re-election for a second term and an absolute parliamentary majority to form a government.

The voting took place under new rules, according to which the winning party receives a bonus of 25-50 seats in parliament, depending on the results.

New Democracy is likely to form an absolute majority in the parliament

The ruling conservative New Democracy party of former Prime Minister Mitsotakis won the repeat parliamentary elections in Greece. It received 40.55%.

The opposition left-wing SYRIZA party of former Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras came in second with 17.84% of the vote. The third place went to the centre-left PASOK party with 11.85%.

New Democracy is likely to form an absolute majority in the Greek parliament – about 158 seats out of 300.

Greek elections outcome
The May 21 elections were held ahead of schedule as Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis decided to dissolve the parliament and appeal to the people for support. He mentioned the need for a stable government to carry out reforms and overcome the consequences of the pandemic and economic crisis. Mr Mitsotakis also stated that he wanted to have a self-sufficient majority in parliament and not be dependent on coalition partners.

During the first elections, held on May 21, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ New Democracy party won the largest number of votes – 40.8% – but did not win a sufficient majority of parliamentary seats, with only 146 out of 301.

This left the prime minister with a choice – to seek allies to form a coalition or to call for re-elections. He chose the second option and stated that he wanted a self-sufficient New Democracy.

The second place went to the Coalition of Radical Left Forces with 20.1% of the vote and 54 seats. The third place went to the Movement of Changes, a social democratic union of parties that received 11.5% of the vote and 31 seats. The Communist Party of Greece (6% and 16 seats) and Hellenic Solution (4% and 11 seats) also entered the parliament.

On May 29, President Katerina Sakellaropoulou issued a decree dissolving the parliament and officially calling elections for June 25.