Opposition Syriza party wins Greece legislative vote: Partial results

Partial results from legislative elections in Greece show the opposition Syriza party has garnered a big victory, with the Greek prime minister conceding defeat to the leader of the anti-austerity party.

According to the Interior Ministry's preliminary results released on Sunday, Syriza won 36.5 percent of the vote, or 150 seats in the country’s 300-seat parliament.

Based on the results, the conservative New Democracy party of Prime Minister Antonis Samaras secured 28.31 percent or 78 seats.

Following the release of the results, Samaras called Syriza leader Alexis Tsipras and congratulated him, Tsipras's office said.

Samaras had warned last month that the country may be forced out of the eurozone if Syriza wins the poll.

But Tsipras said the idea of Greece quitting the eurozone dates back to the height of the country’s financial crisis in 2012 which led to a 240-billion-euro (330 billion dollars) international bailout.

The final results, expected to come in hours, will declare 40-year-old Tsipras as prime minister of the first eurozone government explicitly opposed to bailout conditions imposed by the so-called troika of the International Monetary Fund, the European Commission, and the European Central Bank.

Tsipras victory speech

After his victory in the election, Tsipras addressed a gathering of Syriza supporters in the capital Athens.

Greece is "leaving behind disastrous austerity" and the so-called troika of creditors "is finished", Tsipras said late on Sunday after his victory.

Tsipras also noted that his government will “present new ideas and new plans for change.”

“Our first priority will be to correct what has happened,” he emphasized.

Earlier this month, Tsipras stated that he wanted to make Greece a "positive example of progressivism in Europe."

Greece debt crisis

Greece has been at the epicenter of the eurozone debt crisis and is only slowly emerging from six years of recession, while harsh austerity measures have left tens of thousands of people without jobs.

The country has been relying on international rescue loans since 2010. In exchange, Athens has implemented harsh austerity measures.

The government’s austerity programs have forced people to endure multiple tax increases, along with cuts in pensions and salaries.

Greek citizens have been staging numerous protests over the government’s austerity measures.

Greeks have lost about a third of their disposable income since the debt crisis erupted. The unemployment rate has also soared, leaving about one in four without a job.

MSM/NT/AS

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