ATHENS (Reuters) - Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras called snap national elections after suffering a heavy defeat by the opposition conservatives in European Parliament elections on Sunday.

A woman exits the polling booth before casting her vote for the European and local elections at a polling station in Athens, Greece, May 26, 2019. REUTERS/Constantina Peppa

With an unexpectedly severe pounding at the ballot box for his leftist Syriza party, Tsipras decided not to push through to a full term which expires in October.

“I will request immediate declaration of national elections from the President of the Republic,” Tsipras said in a speech. A party source said the earliest a vote could take place would be June 30, to allow for preparations.

Results for the European Parliament vote showed Syriza trailing the opposition New Democracy party by about nine points.

Syriza stormed the Greek political scene on an anti-austerity platform six years ago, then suffered a backlash after having to impose cut-backs as part of a third bailout in 2015. More damagingly, there was a deeply unpopular agreement that resolved a long-running name dispute with North Macedonia.

New Democracy leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis demanded Tsipras resign, saying he had lost the popular mandate.

“The Prime Minister must assume his responsibilities. For the good of the country he must resign and the country should hold national elections, the soonest possible,” Mitsotakis said.

Once a leftist firebrand, Tsipras, 44, mellowed after sweeping to power and telling the country’s creditors to back off in 2015.

But he was forced into a painful new bailout months later, when faced with a choice of that or being turfed out of the euro zone and into the financial wilderness. The capitulation went down badly with many voters.

Greece emerged from close financial supervision by its lenders in August 2018. The government this month introduced tax cuts and pension payouts, going some way toward unwinding some of the austerity measures.

The handouts may have averted a steeper defeat in the European election, political analyst Thanos Veremis said.

Tsipras’ decision to broker a deal ending a name dispute with North Macedonia earned kudos from his European partners, but proved deeply unpopular with many Greeks.

His coalition partner, Panos Kammenos, pulled out of the government in January, triggering a confidence vote in parliament that Tsipras nonetheless won comfortably.

For most, use of the Macedonia name is an appropriation of Greek heritage by the country’s small neighbor. Regardless, Tsipras signed the name-change deal in June, on the banks of the Prespes Lake bordering Albania, Greece and North Macedonia.

“Syriza committed suicide in Prespes,” Kammenos, his former coalition partner, tweeted on Sunday evening. </s> Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras called for an early national election following the defeat of his party in the European Parliament polls.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras called for an early national election following the defeat of his party in the European Parliament polls.

Mr Tsipras said from the Syriza party offices that “the result does not rise to our expectations … I will not ignore it or quit”.

Mr Tsipras credited his government for pulling the country out of the austerity imposed by Greece’s creditors and said that voting for Sunday’s winner, the conservative New Democracy, would be turning back to “the darkness of austerity, the darkness off crisis, the oligarchs, the International Monetary Fund”.

The government’s term expires in October and before Sunday night’s announcement, government officials insisted that elections would be held at the end of the term.

But a long and contentious meeting of government ministers and party officials ended with the announcement of the early election.

Mr Tsipras said he will visit the Greek president to request the early dissolution of parliament after the second round of local and regional elections on June 2.

This puts the election date at June 30 at the earliest.

In the run-up to the election, Mr Tsipras brought to Parliament a series of measures that amounted to handouts and defied the conservatives to vote against them.

They did not, but accused Mr Tsipras of a desperate gambit for votes.

With just over a third of voting precincts reporting, New Democracy is leading with 33.62% to Syriza’s 23.86%.

The socialists of the Movement for Change follow with 7.16%, ahead of the Communist Party (5.75, the far-right Golden Dawn (4.86%), the hard-line nationalist Greek Solution (4.04%) and Diem25, the pan-European movement of Syriza’s first finance minister Yanis Varoufakis (3.15%).

If the results hold, New Democracy will win seven European Parliament seats; Syriza will get six; the socialists, the communists and Golden Dawn two each; and Greek Solution and Diem25 one each.

New Democracy also stands to make important gains in the second round of the local and regional elections next Sunday. </s> ATHENS, May 26 (Reuters) - Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said he would call snap elections following the defeat of his Syriza party in European Parliament elections.

Results showed his party trailing by up to nine points behind the opposition New Democracy party. Under normal circumstances, Tsipras's mandate ends in October.

In a speech Tsipras said he would meet with the Greek President to discuss calling elections immediately after the conclusion of a second round of local Greek elections scheduled for next week. </s> Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has called for an early national election following the defeat of his party at the European Parliament elections.

 

 Tsipras said from the SYRIZA party offices that “the result does not rise to our expectations ... I will not ignore it or quit.”

 

 The government's term expires in October and before Sunday night's announcement, government officials insisted that elections would be held at the end of the term.

 

 Tsipras said he will visit the Greek president to request the early dissolution of parliament after the second round of local and regional elections on June 2.

 

 This puts the election date at June 30 at the earliest. [AP] </s> Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is likely to call snap elections in June, a source in his SYRIZA party said on Sunday on condition of anonymity.

 

 SYRIZA, in power since 2015, suffered a heavy defeat on Sunday in elections for new delegates to the European Parliament, trailing behind the main opposition New Democracy party by about nine points.

 

 Tsipras was due to issue a statement on Sunday evening. [Reuters] </s> ATHENS (Reuters) - Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Monday urged his Syriza party to regroup and heed the message of voters ahead of snap national elections he called after a resounding defeat from opposition conservatives in European Parliament elections.

In a speech designed to rally Syriza party faithful, Tsipras said the result of Sunday’s vote, which saw opposition New Democracy ahead by about ten points, fell below his expectations.

“The crucial thing in life is not if you will fall, but if you will get up,” Tsipras said.

“I want to ask you all, today, to get up, and regroup, and fight. We very well know we can do it. Because our main strength is that we are defending what is just, our values, the values of the democratic faction and of the left.”

Tsipras has said he plans early elections after Sunday’s defeat. It is widely speculated they could take place as early as June 30. </s> The centre-right New Democracy (ND) Party of ex-banker Kyriakos Mitsotakis is poised to win the Greek snap parliamentary elections the Greek snap parliamentary election with between 38 to 42% of votes, which translates to 155-167 seats in the 300-seat Greek parliament, a Greek TV channel ERT suggest citin exit polls.

The ruling leftist alliance Syriza of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is set to win 26.5-30.5 percent of the vote and 77-82 seats.

​The socialist Kinal party will get 6-8 percent of the vote and 19-22 seats. The Communists are fourth with 5-7 percent of the vote and 16-19 seats.

DiEM25 of ex-Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis is set to gain 3-5 percent of the vote an 8-14 seats. Traditionalist Greek Solution is on 2.8-4.8 percent with up to 13 seats, while far-right New Dawn is on 2.5-4.5 percent with the same amount of seats.

Greeks went to the polls on Sunday after the ruling party called a snap general election after it lost to the centre-right ND Party in May’s European Parliament elections and the opposition urged Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to resign. </s> Athens, May 27 (IANS) Greek main opposition conservative New Democracy (ND) party leads European Parliament elections, garnering 32.7 per cent of the vote against 24 per cent for the ruling Radical Left SYRIZA party, according to estimates based on the first official results announced on national broadcaster ERT.

Greeks went to the polls on Sunday to choose their 21 representatives in the next European parliament for the next five years, as well as in regional authorities, municipalities and communities throughout Greece, Xinhua reported on Sunday.

With about 10 per cent of the vote counted nationwide, according to the early projections issued by the Interior Ministry, six parties will most probably send representatives to the European parliament, clearing the three percent threshold needed under Greece’s electoral law.

The centrist Movement for Change (KINAL) wins 7.8 per cent of the vote, the Greek Communist Party (KKE) ranks fourth with 5.6 per cent and the ultra-Right Chryssi Avghi (Golden Dawn) garners 4.8 per cent of the vote.

A new right-wing party, the Greek Solution, wins 4.2 per cent of the vote.

DIEM25, a party founded by former Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis, wins 2.9 per cent of the vote, according to the projections.

Local media commentators noted in first reactions that the outcome may lead to national elections soon, earlier than October this year, when the government’s term in office ends.

So far Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and ND leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis have not commented on the results.

Several ND deputies participating in talks shows in many TV channels on Sunday evening said that Greece is undergoing a major political change and that after the 2014 European elections when SYRIZA had won ND by 26.6-22.7 per cent of the vote, Tsipras had asked for snap polls.

A party statement reminded that during this pre-election campaign the Prime Minister had asked for a vote of confidence in his government’s policies.

On the other hand, many cabinet ministers, including government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos, based on the earlier exit polls, said that it seems that SYRIZA has not suffered a strategic defeat that would justify “political developments”.

The final official results are expected on Monday. </s> ATHENS
• Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras' ruling leftist Syriza party was expected to be ousted by the conservative opposition in Greece's first general election since the country emerged from international bailouts.

Polls predicted the conservatives to return to power after voting closed at midnight yesterday, ending four years of leftist rule blamed for saddling Greece with more debt.

Opinion polls put New Democracy's lead at around 10 percentage points ahead of Syriza, potentially giving it an absolute majority in Greece's 300-seat Parliament.

"This is a critical battle," said Mr Tsipras, a radical leftist who stormed to power in 2015 vowing to tear up the austerity rule book, only to relent later.

"We are fighting it with optimism and determination ... so that the sacrifices and hard work of our people do not go to waste," he said after casting his vote in Athens on a hot summer morning.

The snap election was called after Syriza suffered defeat in European elections in May, and is largely a showdown between two contenders -Mr Tsipras and Mr Kyriakos Mitsotakis of New Democracy, the scion of a political dynasty who hopes to follow in the footsteps of his father as prime minister.

As Mr Mitsotakis arrived at the polling station, a crowd of supporters erupted in cheers of "Here comes the prime minister!" while a small group of radical leftist demonstrators tried to block the entrance.

"Today, Greeks take their future in their own hands and I am certain that a better day for our country will dawn tomorrow," Mr Mitsotakis said.

Greece endured a debilitating financial crisis from 2010 that required three cash lifelines from its European Union partners. The economy is the public's main concern, said Mr Thomas Gerakis of pollsters MARC.

One voter, a 45-year-old private sector worker who gave his name as Makis, said: "I think in the long run (New Democracy) will be better in terms of management and growth."

Others said they forgave Mr Tsipras for any errors.

"I am completely satisfied, whatever the mistakes, whatever the omissions. He got us out of the bailouts," said Ms Niki Loufa, 61, a retired bank worker.

Mr Tsipras said that a vote cast for Mr Mitsotakis would go to the political establishment, which forced Greece to the edge of the precipice in the first place.

But he has also been roundly criticised for mismanagement of crises under his watch.

They include an incident last year when 100 people were killed in a devastating fire that swept through a seaside village east of Athens. While Mr Mitsotakis was quick to the scene to console survivors, Mr Tsipras was out of the public eye for several days.

Athens wrapped up its last economic adjustment programme last year, but remains under surveillance from lenders to ensure no future fiscal slippage. While economic growth has returned, Greece's unemployment of 18 per cent is the euro zone's highest.

New Democracy has promised to invest in creating well-paid jobs with decent benefits.

The Tsipras government meanwhile hopes voters will reward it for raising the minimum wage by 11 per cent and reinstating collective bargaining.
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, whose term expires in October, calls for snap elections following his leftist Syriza party's heavy defeat by the opposition conservatives in the European Parliament elections.