Greece’s ruling conservative party won the elections but did not gain a majority

ATHENS, May 22 (Reuters) – The New Democracy party of incumbent Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis won a landslide victory in Sunday’s general elections in Greece but failed to pass the threshold required to form a government on its own, raising the likelihood of a second round. elections in June.

When the majority of the votes are counted, the Conservatives receive 40.8% of the vote – twice as much as the far-left Syriza party that led the government from 2015 to 2019.

According to the forecast of the Greek Interior Ministry, “New Democracy” under the new electoral system could win 145 seats in parliament, six less than the absolute majority.

The three leading parties – the centre-right conservatives, Syriza and the socialist PASOK – have three days to form a coalition government.

If this fails, the Greek president will appoint an interim government in about a month to prepare for a new round of elections.

Mitsotakis is unlikely to join a coalition – he has repeatedly expressed his desire to create a strong, one-party government.

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(Rene Maltezu, Lefteris Papadimas featuring Angelika Koutantou, Deborah Kivrikosaios and Tzina Kalovirna)