Elections in Greece: Kyriakos Mitsotakis regains power



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Legend of the mediaNew Greek democracy celebrates Athens elections

New Democracy, a center-right Greek opposition party, won the country's early general elections.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras acknowledged the defeat of rival Kyriakos Mitsotakis, with most districts with mostly districts.

The New Democracy has so far garnered 39.85% of the vote, with Tsipras' left party Syriza ranking second with 31.53%.

Current projections give New Democracy an absolute majority, with the winner receiving 50 more seats in Parliament.

Official figures show that almost all districts have reported results.

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Voter turnout was around 57%, one of the lowest numbers in decades.

There have been half a dozen elections in recent years and Sunday, many residents have gathered on the beaches or sheltered at home when temperatures exceeded 35 ° C in places.

What did Mitsotakis say in his victory speech?

The elected Prime Minister told his supporters that he had received a strong mandate for change.

"The country proudly raises its head," he told the crowd in Athens, saying he would be the prime minister for all, because the Greeks were "too few to remain divided."

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Kyriakos Mitsotakis, leader of New Democracy, embraced

Acting on the results, Mr. Tsipras confirmed that he had called Mr. Mitsotakis to congratulate him.

"Today, with our heads up, we accept the verdict of the people, to bring Greece to where it is today we had to make difficult decisions." [with] a heavy political tribute, "Tsipras told reporters.

The outgoing President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, congratulated Mr Mitsotakis on his "unequivocal victory".

What are the results saying up to now?

The center-left Movement of Change is 8.1%, followed by the Communist Party at 5.3%.

The far-right Golden Dawn party did not achieve the minimum of 3% required to enter Parliament according to the narrowest margin – 2.93%.

The Greek-pro-Russian nationalist solution and MeRA25, the left-wing party of former Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis, both crossed the threshold.

Too many promises

Analysis of Mark Lowen, BBC News, Athens

In 2015, Alexis Tsipras seemed to be the figure of change.

During its anti-fire protests, the left-wing populist vowed to end Greece's bailout program and put an end to austerity.

But he is desperately over-promised.

Under pressure from the EU, capital control over its banks and the threat of "Grexit" – a departure from the euro – he was forced to humiliate a U-turn, signing a third plan life saving of € 89 billion (£ 80 billion). and more austerity.

His support base has started to drop.

At the beginning of the Mitsotakis era, one of Europe's iconic left-wing leaders in the past four years has left the scene.

But he will regroup in opposition and wait behind the scenes to seize the mistakes of the new head of Greece.

Greek media also reported that an urn had been stolen by an unidentified group that had been forced into a polling station.

What happened to Syriza's support?

Prime Minister Tsipras, who came to power in 2015, called the elections after a defeat in the local and European elections in May.

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EPA

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Mr. Tsipras spoke to the press after his defeat

He had overthrown the New Democracy of Power by campaigning against the austerity policies that had been affecting the Greeks for years.

A few months later, he was forced to accept difficult conditions in exchange for Greece's third bailout.

Mr. Tsipras had to face a revolt within his party and responded by calling for new elections, which he won.

However, the popularity of his party was started with the increase in unemployment and the contraction of the Greek economy.

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Mitsotakis attacked the balance sheet of his rival, saying that the economic improvement was too slow.

He also benefited from widespread anger over a landmark deal with North Macedonia over the name of the country – which it shares with a Greek region.

What does the new democracy represent?

New Democracy has promised to cut taxes and privatize services in the country, which is still suffering from the effects of the 2008 financial crisis.

Greece has benefited from a series of rescue programs over the past decade, which it officially "abandoned" last August with the return of economic growth.

But youth unemployment remains high and New Democracy has among its supporters many young people aged 18 to 24.

The new potential prime minister belongs to one of Greece's long-standing political dynasties.

Kyriakos Mitsotakis is the son of former Prime Minister Konstantinos Mitsotakis. His sister, Dora Bakoyannis, was mayor of Athens when the city hosted the Olympic Games in 2004, before becoming Greek Foreign Minister.

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