Two main parties punished in Greek elections

Seven parties, including three new ones, won more than three percent of the votes, which is enough to pass the threshold and get seats in the Greek parliament. No party won enough votes to form a government. Two main parties punished in Greek elections Greeks angered by a vicious and protracted financial crisis punished their two main parties – the New Democracy and PASOK, whose leaders Antonis Samaras and Evangelos Venizelos supported the forming of a coalition. Analysts say that long negotiations would be held before the future government could be formed. According to updated exit poll figures an hour and a half after polls closed, New Democracy was projected to win 19-20.5 percent, which is 13.8 percent less than in the 2009 elections, followed by the leftist Radical Left Coalition, or Syriza, with 15.5-17 percent. The formerly majority socialist PASOK party was projected in third place with 13-14 percent. The outcome is a devastating blow to PASOK, which won a landslide victory in the last parliamentary elections in 2009 with more than 43 percent. PASOK, along with New Democracy, have dominated Greek politics since the fall of the seven-year dictatorship in 1974, the AP points out. A new party, Independent Greeks, won 10.47 percent of the vote and the fifth came the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) with 8.38 percent. Far-right Chrisi Avgi (Golden Dawn), which has vowed to kick out immigrants and mine Greece's borders with Turkey, was predicted to win between 6.5-7.5 percent, well above the three percent needed to enter parliament. "Greek citizens should not fear us, the only ones who should fear us are the traitors," Golden Dawn leader Nikolaos Michaloliakos told the AP. Whichever party wins the most votes will get a bonus of 50 seats in the 300-member parliament. But with percentages so low and between seven and 10 parties projected to enter parliament, that will not be enough to form a governing majority of 151 seats, the AP reports. The first party will be given a mandate to form a coalition, and will have three days for negotiations. If it fails, the mandate will go to the second party for a further three days, and then on to the third party. If no coalition emerges, the country will have to have another election — a prospect which has alarmed Greece's international creditors. The election will determine the country's course after years of austerity measures that have outraged voters but which were critical in convincing international creditors to extend Greece billions in loans to keep its debt-saddled economy afloat, AP says. Greece is heavily dependent on billions of euros worth of international rescue loans from other EU member states and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and must impose yet more austerity measures next month to keep the bailout funds flowing and prevent a default and a potentially disastrous exit from the eurozone. New Democracy leader Antonis Samaras (Beta) Beta Tanjug Press

Two main parties punished in Greek elections

Greeks angered by a vicious and protracted financial crisis punished their two main parties – the New Democracy and PASOK, whose leaders Antonis Samaras and Evangelos Venizelos supported the forming of a coalition.

Analysts say that long negotiations would be held before the future government could be formed.

According to updated exit poll figures an hour and a half after polls closed, New Democracy was projected to win 19-20.5 percent, which is 13.8 percent less than in the 2009 elections, followed by the leftist Radical Left Coalition, or Syriza, with 15.5-17 percent. The formerly majority socialist PASOK party was projected in third place with 13-14 percent.

The outcome is a devastating blow to PASOK, which won a landslide victory in the last parliamentary elections in 2009 with more than 43 percent. PASOK, along with New Democracy, have dominated Greek politics since the fall of the seven-year dictatorship in 1974, the AP points out.

A new party, Independent Greeks, won 10.47 percent of the vote and the fifth came the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) with 8.38 percent.

Far-right Chrisi Avgi (Golden Dawn), which has vowed to kick out immigrants and mine Greece's borders with Turkey, was predicted to win between 6.5-7.5 percent, well above the three percent needed to enter parliament.

"Greek citizens should not fear us, the only ones who should fear us are the traitors," Golden Dawn leader Nikolaos Michaloliakos told the AP.

Whichever party wins the most votes will get a bonus of 50 seats in the 300-member parliament. But with percentages so low and between seven and 10 parties projected to enter parliament, that will not be enough to form a governing majority of 151 seats, the AP reports.

The first party will be given a mandate to form a coalition, and will have three days for negotiations. If it fails, the mandate will go to the second party for a further three days, and then on to the third party.

If no coalition emerges, the country will have to have another election — a prospect which has alarmed Greece's international creditors.

The election will determine the country's course after years of austerity measures that have outraged voters but which were critical in convincing international creditors to extend Greece billions in loans to keep its debt-saddled economy afloat, AP says.

Greece is heavily dependent on billions of euros worth of international rescue loans from other EU member states and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and must impose yet more austerity measures next month to keep the bailout funds flowing and prevent a default and a potentially disastrous exit from the eurozone.