A man leaves the voting booth as he's votes at a polling station in Athens, Greece, Sunday, May 21, 2023. Greeks head to the polls on Sunday to elect a leader who will have more control over the country's economy for the first time in over a decade. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis) A man casts his votes at a polling station in Athens, Greece, Sunday, May 21, 2023. Greeks head to the polls on Sunday to elect a leader who will have more control over the country's economy for the first time in over a decade. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis) Two men cast their votes at a polling station in Athens, Greece, Sunday, May 21, 2023. Greeks head to the polls on Sunday to elect a leader who will have more control over the country's economy for the first time in over a decade. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis) A man casts his votes at a polling station in Athens, Greece, Sunday, May 21, 2023. Greeks head to the polls on Sunday to elect a leader who will have more control over the country's economy for the first time in over a decade. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis) A man leave the voting booth as he's votes at a polling station in Athens, Greece, Sunday, May 21, 2023. Greeks head to the polls on Sunday to elect a leader who will have more control over the country's economy for the first time in over a decade. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis) A man casts his vote at a polling station in Athens, Greece, Sunday, May 21, 2023. Greeks head to the polls on Sunday to elect a leader who will have more control over the country's economy for the first time in over a decade. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis) A woman walks at a polling station in Athens, Greece, Sunday, May 21, 2023. Greeks head to the polls on Sunday to elect a leader who will have more control over the country's economy for the first time in over a decade. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis) A woman, over, casts her vote at a polling station in Athens, Greece, Sunday, May 21, 2023. Greeks head to the polls on Sunday to elect a leader who will have more control over the country's economy for the first time in over a decade. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis) Two voters cast their ballots at a polling station in Athens, Greece, Sunday, May 21, 2023. Greeks head to the polls on Sunday to elect a leader who will have more control over the country's economy for the first time in over a decade. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis) A woman leaves the voting booth as she's casts her vote at a polling station in Athens, Greece, Sunday, May 21, 2023. Greeks head to the polls on Sunday to elect a leader who will have more control over the country's economy for the first time in over a decade. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis) Yiannis Tasopoulos, 6 years old, puts his mother vote, Irene Tasopoulou, in the ballot box at a polling stationin Athens, Greece, Sunday, May 21, 2023. Greeks head to the polls on Sunday to elect a leader who will have more control over the country's economy for the first time in over a decade. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis) Voters cast their ballots at a polling station in Athens, Greece, Sunday, May 21, 2023. Greeks head to the polls on Sunday to elect a leader who will have more control over the country's economy for the first time in over a decade. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis) A woman leaves the voting booth as she's casts her vote in Athens, Greece, Sunday, May 21, 2023. Polls have opened in Greece's parliamentary election, the first since the country's economy ceased to be subject to strict supervision and control by international lenders who had provided bailout funds during its nearly decade-long financial crisis. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) A man casts his vote at a polling station in Athens, Greece, Sunday, May 21, 2023. Polls have opened in Greece's parliamentary election, the first since the country's economy ceased to be subject to strict supervision and control by international lenders who had provided bailout funds during its nearly decade-long financial crisis. (AP Photo/Yorgos Karahalis) A woman casts her vote at a polling station in Athens, Greece, Sunday, May 21, 2023. Polls have opened in Greece's parliamentary election, the first since the country's economy ceased to be subject to strict supervision and control by international lenders who had provided bailout funds during its nearly decade-long financial crisis. (AP Photo/Yorgos Karahalis) A man with his dog casts his vote at a polling station in Athens, Greece, Sunday, May 21, 2023. Polls have opened in Greece's parliamentary election, the first since the country's economy ceased to be subject to strict supervision and control by international lenders who had provided bailout funds during its nearly decade-long financial crisis. (AP Photo/Michael Varaklas) A woman casts her vote at a polling station in Athens, Greece, Sunday, May 21, 2023. Polls have opened in Greece's parliamentary election, the first since the country's economy ceased to be subject to strict supervision and control by international lenders who had provided bailout funds during its nearly decade-long financial crisis. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis) Voters walk at a polling station in Athens, Greece, Sunday, May 21, 2023. Polls have opened in Greece's parliamentary election, the first since the country's economy ceased to be subject to strict supervision and control by international lenders who had provided bailout funds during its nearly decade-long financial crisis. (AP Photo/Yorgos Karahalis) A man with his dog casts his vote at a polling station in Athens, Greece, Sunday, May 21, 2023. Polls have opened in Greece's parliamentary election, the first since the country's economy ceased to be subject to strict supervision and control by international lenders who had provided bailout funds during its nearly decade-long financial crisis. (AP Photo/Michael Varaklas) Voters look an election vote list at a polling station in Athens, Greece, Sunday, May 21, 2023. Polls have opened in Greece's parliamentary election, the first since the country's economy ceased to be subject to strict supervision and control by international lenders who had provided bailout funds during its nearly decade-long financial crisis. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis) A man leaves the voting booth as he's votes at a polling station in Athens, Greece, Sunday, May 21, 2023. Polls have opened in Greece's parliamentary election, the first since the country's economy ceased to be subject to strict supervision and control by international lenders who had provided bailout funds during its nearly decade-long financial crisis. (AP Photo/Yorgos Karahalis) People cast their vote at polling station in Athens, Greece, Sunday, May 21, 2023. Greeks are voting in the first parliamentary election since their country’s economy ceased to be subject to strict supervision and control by international lenders who had provided bailout funds during its nearly decade-long financial crisis. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) People wait to vote at a polling station in Athens, Greece, Sunday, May 21, 2023. Greeks are voting in the first parliamentary election since their country’s economy ceased to be subject to strict supervision and control by international lenders who had provided bailout funds during its nearly decade-long financial crisis. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) Leader of the main opposition Syriza party, Alexis Tsipras casts his vote at a polling station in Athens, Greece, Sunday, May 21, 2023. Polls have opened in Greece's parliamentary election, the first since the country's economy ceased to be subject to strict supervision and control by international lenders who had provided bailout funds during its nearly decade-long financial crisis. (AP Photo/Michael Varaklas) Leader of the main opposition Syriza party, Alexis Tsipras greeting his supporters at a polling station in Athens, Greece, Sunday, May 21, 2023. Polls have opened in Greece's parliamentary election, the first since the country's economy ceased to be subject to strict supervision and control by international lenders who had provided bailout funds during its nearly decade-long financial crisis. (AP Photo/Michael Varaklas) Pictures of ancient Greek mythological figures hang on a rope as a voter casts her vote at a polling station in Athens, Greece, Sunday, May 21, 2023. Polls have opened in Greece's parliamentary election, the first since the country's economy ceased to be subject to strict supervision and control by international lenders who had provided bailout funds during its nearly decade-long financial crisis. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) A man with his dog casts his vote at a polling station in Athens, Greece, Sunday, May 21, 2023. Polls have opened in Greece's parliamentary election, the first since the country's economy ceased to be subject to strict supervision and control by international lenders who had provided bailout funds during its nearly decade-long financial crisis. (AP Photo/Michael Varaklas) Greece's Prime Minister and leader of New Democracy Kyriakos Mitsotakis votes at a polling station in Athens, Greece, Sunday, May 21, 2023. Polls have opened in Greece's parliamentary election, the first since the country's economy ceased to be subject to strict supervision and control by international lenders who had provided bailout funds during its nearly decade-long financial crisis. (AP Photo/Yorgos Karahalis) Voters cast their ballots at a polling station in Athens, Greece, Sunday, May 21, 2023. Greeks head to the polls on Sunday to elect a leader who will have more control over the country's economy for the first time in over a decade. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis) A man casts his vote as his dog waiting, at a polling station in Athens, Greece, Sunday, May 21, 2023. Polls have opened in Greece's parliamentary election, the first since the country's economy ceased to be subject to strict supervision and control by international lenders who had provided bailout funds during its nearly decade-long financial crisis. (AP Photo/Michael Varaklas) Supporters of New Democracy gesture as they watch the exit polls at the main polling kiosk of their party at Syntagma square, in central Athens, Greece, Sunday, May 21, 2023. Greeks voted on Sunday to elect a leader who will have more control over the country's economy for the first time in over a decade. (AP Photo/Yorgos Karahalis) Supporters of Syriza watch the exit polls at the main polling kiosk of their party at Klafthmonos square, in central Athens, Greece, Sunday, May 21, 2023. Greeks voted on Sunday to elect a leader who will have more control over the country's economy for the first time in over a decade. (AP Photo/Michael Varaklas) Supporters of New Democracy gesture as they watch the exit polls at the main polling kiosk of their party at Syntagma square, in central Athens, Greece, Sunday, May 21, 2023. Greeks voted on Sunday to elect a leader who will have more control over the country's economy for the first time in over a decade. (AP Photo/Yorgos Karahalis) Greece's Prime Minister and leader of New Democracy Kyriakos Mitsotakis gives a speech at the headquarters of his party in Athens, Greece, Sunday, May 21, 2023. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and his conservative party are leading Greece's election by a wide margin, according to partial official results, but a new electoral law means he will be unable to form a government without seeking coalition partners, and a second election is likely. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis) Greece's Prime Minister and leader of New Democracy Kyriakos Mitsotakis addresses supporters at the headquarters of his party in Athens, Greece, Sunday, May 21, 2023. The conservative party of Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has won a landslide election but without enough parliamentary seats to form a government. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) Greece's Prime Minister and leader of New Democracy Kyriakos Mitsotakis, top, addresses supporters at the headquarters of his party in Athens, Greece, Sunday, May 21, 2023. The conservative party of Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has won a landslide election but without enough parliamentary seats to form a government. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) Supporters of Greece's Prime Minister and leader of New Democracy Kyriakos Mitsotakis drive past the party headquarters in Athens, Greece, Sunday, May 21, 2023. The conservative party of Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has won a landslide election but without enough parliamentary seats to form a government. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis) Supporters of Greece's Prime Minister and leader of New Democracy Kyriakos Mitsotakis gather at the party headquarters in Athens, Greece, Sunday, May 21, 2023. The conservative party of Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has won a landslide election but without enough parliamentary seats to form a government. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis) Greece's Prime Minister and leader of New Democracy Kyriakos Mitsotakis, center, addresses supporters at the headquarters of his party in Athens, Greece, Sunday, May 21, 2023. The conservative party of Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has won a landslide election but without enough parliamentary seats to form a government. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis) Greece's Prime Minister and leader of New Democracy Kyriakos Mitsotakis, center, addresses supporters at the headquarters of his party in Athens, Greece, Sunday, May 21, 2023. The conservative party of Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has won a landslide election but without enough parliamentary seats to form a government. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis) Greece's Prime Minister and leader of New Democracy Kyriakos Mitsotakis addresses supporters at the headquarters of his party in Athens, Greece, Sunday, May 21, 2023. The conservative party of Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has won a landslide election but without enough parliamentary seats to form a government. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) Greece's Prime Minister and leader of New Democracy Kyriakos Mitsotakis, center, addresses supporters at the headquarters of his party in Athens, Greece, Sunday, May 21, 2023. The conservative party of Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has won a landslide election but without enough parliamentary seats to form a government. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis) Greece's Prime Minister and leader of New Democracy Kyriakos Mitsotakis, center, addresses supporters at the headquarters of his party in Athens, Greece, Sunday, May 21, 2023. The conservative party of Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has won a landslide election but without enough parliamentary seats to form a government. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) Greece's Prime Minister and leader of New Democracy Kyriakos Mitsotakis, center top, addresses supporters at the headquarters of his party in Athens, Greece, Sunday, May 21, 2023. The conservative party of Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has won a landslide election but without enough parliamentary seats to form a government. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) Leader of the main opposition Syriza party, Alexis Tsipras talks to the media after casts his vote at a polling station in Athens, Greece, Sunday, May 21, 2023. Polls have opened in Greece's parliamentary election, the first since the country's economy ceased to be subject to strict supervision and control by international lenders who had provided bailout funds during its nearly decade-long financial crisis. (AP Photo/Michael Varaklas) Greece's Prime Minister and leader of New Democracy Kyriakos Mitsotakis, center top, addresses supporters at the headquarters of his party in Athens, Greece, Sunday, May 21, 2023. The conservative party of Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has won a landslide election but without enough parliamentary seats to form a government. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) Greece's Prime Minister and leader of New Democracy Kyriakos Mitsotakis, top left, addresses supporters at the headquarters of his party in Athens, Greece, Sunday, May 21, 2023. The conservative party of Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has won a landslide election but without enough parliamentary seats to form a government. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis) Greece's Prime Minister and leader of New Democracy Kyriakos Mitsotakis gives a speech at the headquarters of his party in Athens, Greece, Sunday, May 21, 2023. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and his conservative party are leading Greece's election by a wide margin, according to partial official results, but a new electoral law means he will be unable to form a government without seeking coalition partners, and a second election is likely. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis) Supporters of Greece's Prime Minister and leader of New Democracy Kyriakos Mitsotakis shout slogans outside the headquarters of his party in Athens, Greece, Sunday, May 21, 2023. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and his conservative party are leading Greece's election by a wide margin, according to partial official results, but a new electoral law means he will be unable to form a government without seeking coalition partners, and a second election is likely. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) Greece's Prime Minister and leader of New Democracy Kyriakos Mitsotakis gives a speech at the headquarters of his party in Athens, Greece, Sunday, May 21, 2023. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and his conservative party are leading Greece's election by a wide margin, according to partial official results, but a new electoral law means he will be unable to form a government without seeking coalition partners, and a second election is likely. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis) Supporters of Greece's Prime Minister and leader of New Democracy Kyriakos Mitsotakis watch the exit polls at the main polling kiosk of their party at Syntagma square, in central Athens, Greece, Sunday, May 21, 2023. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and his conservative party are leading Greece's election by a wide margin, according to partial official results, but a new electoral law means he will be unable to form a government without seeking coalition partners, and a second election is likely. (AP Photo/Yorgos Karahalis) Supporters of Syriza watch the exit polls at the main polling kiosk of their party at Klafthmonos square, in central Athens, Greece, Sunday, May 21, 2023. Exit polls in Greece's parliamentary elections show Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis' conservative party is in the lead but is unlikely to win enough seats in parliament to form a government outright. (AP Photo/Michael Varaklas) Election representatives count the ballots at a polling station in Athens, Greece, Sunday, May 21, 2023. Exit polls in Greece's parliamentary elections show Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis' conservative party is in the lead but is unlikely to win enough seats in parliament to form a government outright. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, whose conservative party scored a landslide election victory Sunday but without the seats in Parliament to win outright, indicated he will seek a second election in a bid to consolidate victory without a coalition partner.
Mitsotakis’ New Democracy party was a full 20 percentage points ahead of its main rival, the left-wing Syriza party, nearly complete results showed. But a new electoral system of proportional representation meant his 40% vote share still was not enough to secure a majority of the 300 seats in Parliament. To form a government, he would either have to seek a coalition partner from a smaller party, or head to a second election.
The prime minister said he would “follow all constitutional procedures” but maintained his view that the current electoral system that created the need for coalition was akin to “party horse-trading.”
“Without a doubt, the political earthquake that occurred today calls on us all to speed up the process for a definitive government solution so our country can have an experienced hand at its helm as soon as possible.”
Jubilant New Democracy supporters massed outside party headquarters in Athens, cheering and waving party flags.
A second election, likely to be held in late June or early July, would be conducted under a new electoral law that gives bonus seats to the winning party, making it easier for it to form a government on its own.
Sunday’s election was Greece’s first since its economy ceased being under strict supervision by international lenders who had provided bailout funds during the country’s nearly decadelong financial crisis.
Syriza head Alexis Tsipras, 48, served as prime minister during some of the most tumultuous years of the crisis, and has struggled to regain the wide support he enjoyed when he was swept to power in 2015 on a promise of reversing bailout-imposed austerity measures.
He called Mitsotakis on Sunday night to congratulate him on his victory.
“The result is exceptionally negative for Syriza,” Tsipras said in initial statements after his party's dramatic defeat became clear. “Fights have winners and losers.”
Tsipras said his party would gather to examine the results and how they came about. “However, the electoral cycle is not yet over,” he said. “We don't have the luxury of time. We must immediately carry out all the changes that are needed so we can fight the next crucial and final electoral battle with the best terms possible.”
As the massive gap between the first two parties became apparent, Syriza supporters expressed dismay.
“I am very sorry about the terrible state of these people (who voted for New Democracy)," said Syriza supporter Georgi Koulouri, standing near a Syriza campaign kiosk in central Athens. “People who understand their position — the poverty and the misery that they have been put into — and still vote for them, they deserve what they get.”
Mitsotakis, a 55-year-old Harvard-educated former banking executive, won elections in 2019 on a promise of business-oriented reforms and has vowed to continue tax cuts, boost investments and bolster middle class employment.
A steady lead he had enjoyed in opinion polls in the runup to the election slid following a Feb. 28 rail disaster that killed 57 people. Authorities said an intercity passenger train was accidentally put on the same rail line as an oncoming freight train, and it later was revealed that train stations were poorly staffed and safety infrastructure broken and outdated.
The government also was battered by a surveillance scandal in which journalists and prominent Greek politicians discovered spyware on their phones. The revelations deepened mistrust among the country’s political parties.
Syriza's campaign focused heavily on both the wiretapping scandal and the train crash.
Greece’s once-dominant Pasok party, overtaken by Syriza during Greece's 2009-2018 financial crisis, also fared well in Sunday's vote, garnering just over 11%. Its leader, Nikos Androulakis, 44, was at the center of the wiretapping scandal in which his phone was targeted for surveillance.
Androulakis’ poor relationship with Mitsotakis, whom he accuses of covering up the wiretapping scandal, mean a potential coalition deal with the conservatives would be difficult. His relationship with Tsipras is also poor after he accused him of trying to poach Pasok voters.
Since coming to power in 2019, Mitsotakis has delivered unexpectedly high growth, a steep drop in unemployment and a country on the brink of returning to investment grade on the global bond market for the first time since it lost market access in 2010 at the outset of the financial crisis.
Debts to the International Monetary Fund were paid off early. European governments and the IMF pumped 280 billion euros ($300 billion) into the Greek economy in emergency loans between 2010 and 2018 to prevent the eurozone member from bankruptcy. In return, they demanded punishing cost-cutting measures and reforms that saw the country’s economy shrink by a quarter.
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Theodora Tongas, Demetris Nellas and Nicholas Paphitis contributed to this report.
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