As expected, new elections were called eight days after the parliamentary elections in Greece. The new ballot, scheduled by decree of Head of State Katerina Sakellaropoulou, will take place on June 25th.
As expected, new elections were called eight days after the parliamentary elections in Greece. The new ballot, scheduled by decree of Head of State Katerina Sakellaropoulou, will take place on June 25th. The conservative head of government, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who was in office until last week, spoke out in favor of this date.
Mitsotakis’ party Nea Dimokratia (ND) won the elections on May 21 by a clear margin, but did not achieve a sole majority in parliament.
A new electoral law will now be applied for the first time in the new elections, granting the victor a bonus of up to 50 seats. For Mitsotakis’ ND, a sole governing majority is therefore very likely.
Mitsotakis had previously formally rejected the mandate to form a government and instead called for new elections. An interim government led by Court of Auditors President Ioannis Sarmas has been in office since last week.
In the elections on May 21, the ND received 40.8 percent of the vote – more than 20 percentage points more than the largest opposition party, the left-wing Syriza of ex-Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras. Tsipras described the result as a “painful shock” and was combative with a view to the new election.