ATHENS // Anti-bailout party Syriza looked to have won Greece’s parliamentary elections, an exit poll showed late on Sunday, in a historic first for a radical left-wing party in the country.
But it was unclear whether Syriza had won a big enough victory over Prime Minister Antonis Samaras’ incumbent conservatives to govern alone. For that, they need a minimum 151 of parliament’s 300 seats.
The exit poll on state television channel Nerit TV projected Syriza as having won with between 35.5 and 39.5 per cent of the vote – or 146-158 seats – compared to Mr Samaras’ New Democracy party with 23-27 per cent – 65-75 seats.
The centrist Potami (River) party was battling for third place with the Nazi-inspired, extreme right-wing Golden Dawn, whose leadership is in prison pending trial for running a criminal organisation. Both were projected as having between 6.4 and 8 per cent of the vote.
Earlier in the day, a Syriza official said the party was confident of victory and believed it would have little difficulty in forming a coalition government if it fails to gain the 151 seats required for an absolute majority in the 300-seat parliament.
The early election was triggered when Greece’s parliament failed to elect the country’s new president in December.
Syriza leader Alexis Tsipras has promised to renegotiate the country’s 240 billion euro (Dh987.9bn) international bailout deal. He has pledged to reverse many of the reforms that creditors demanded in exchange for keeping Greece financially afloat since 2010. These included stringent cuts in public sector spending and tax and pay cuts.
“Our common future in Europe is not the future of austerity, it is the future of democracy, solidarity and cooperation,” the 40-year-old said on Sunday as he voted amid a media scrum in Athens.
He added that Greek people would regain “dignity” under a Syriza government.
Mr Tsipras, who grew up in a middle-class Athens family and trained as a civil engineer, has previously said Syriza wants to smash the “oligarchy” that has traditionally dominated Greek politics and the media.
His anti-bailout rhetoric has renewed doubts over Greece’s ability to emerge from its financial crisis that has seen a quarter of its economy wiped out, sent unemployment soaring and undermined the euro, the currency shared by 19 European countries.
There are also fears that a Syriza victory could pave the way for other anti-austerity parties to break through in Europe, such as Spain’s Podemos.
Greece’s creditors insist the country must abide by previous commitments to continue receiving support, and investors and markets alike have been spooked by the anti-bailout rhetoric. Greece could face bankruptcy if a solution is not found, although speculation of a “Grexit” – Greece leaving the euro – and a potential collapse of the entire currency has been far less fraught than during the last general election in 2012.
The International Monetary Fund has warned Greece that failure to repay its debts will carry “consequences”.
Prime minister Samaras argues it would be disastrous if voters bring Syriza to power just as the fiscal reforms he has supported since coming to power in 2012 could be about to bear fruit.
“Today we decide if are going forward or if we are going towards the unknown,” Mr Samaras said, as he voted in his hometown of Pylos in Greece’s Peloponnese region.
* Associated Press and Agence France-Presse
