Greece's conservatives win election, pledge more reforms

Former Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, 55, promised more reforms at a faster pace after his conservative party won the second general election in five weeks and an outright majority in parliament on Sunday.

With 95 percent of the votes counted, New Democracy (ND) party garnered 40.55 percent of the votes, securing 158 seats in the next 300-member parliament to form a single-party government, according to official results released by the Interior Ministry.

"We received a strong mandate to proceed faster on the path of reforms our country needs," said Mitsotakis at the party's headquarters.

A former banker and scion of a powerful political family, the 55-year-old has promised to boost revenue from the vital tourist industry, create jobs and increase wages to near the European Union average.

Mitsotakis, who was prime minister from 2019 until stepping down in favor of a caretaker premier following an inconclusive May vote, has vowed to push ahead with reforms to rebuild the country's credit rating after the debt crisis that wracked the nation for a decade.

During his second term in office, Greece will change further, he said, pledging more prosperity for all.

The Leftists of SYRIZA-Progressive Alliance garnered 17.84 percent of the votes, and the socialists of Panhellenic Socialist Movement-Movement for Change (PASOK- KINAL) gained 11.88 percent.

Eight parties are expected to enter the next parliament after passing the three-percentage threshold of the votes needed under electoral law.

On Monday, Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou will give a mandate to Mitsotakis to form a new government.

Sunday's vote was the second in the past five weeks, as the first poll on May 21, held under a different electoral system, failed to give a single party an absolute majority in parliament. The system used in Sunday's poll gave the leading party bonus seats depending on voter support.

Since there was no agreement to form a coalition government in May, a caretaker government was appointed to lead the country to the second ballot.

In the 2019 general elections, ND won 39.8 percent of the votes with 158 seats in parliament.

(CGTN)