Greece’s Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, has called parliamentary elections for May 21, Ekathimerini has reported.
According to opinion polls, Mitsotakis’ New Democracy party has held a comfortable lead over opposition leftist SYRIZA since it came to power in 2019, but a February 28 rail disaster which killed 57 people has stirred public anger and seen that gap narrow.
“The country and its citizens need clear horizons… the national elections will be held at the end of the four-year term, as I had committed from the start,” Mitsotakis said during a televised cabinet meeting.
The May 21 poll will take place under a newly introduced system of proportional representation. That system makes it difficult for a party to gain a clear majority, setting the stage for a second, run-off round.
That vote will take place “at the latest by early July,” Mitsotakis said.
Greece’s opposition parties have responded to the Greek Prime Minister’s election announcement. SYRIZA-Progressive Alliance leader, Alexis Tsipras, said on Tuesday the national elections “can signal a great change that the country really needs.”
PASOK-Movement for Change leader, Nikos Androulakis, also said on Tuesday the “Greeks in the elections of May 21 will vote for a new hope, for a new prospect.”
From now on, the Parliament will continue its normal work until it closes for Easter on April 11. The dissolution of the Parliament will take place until April 22 when the Presidential Decree will be taped to the entrance of the Parliament.
Source: Ekathimerini.
