GREECE ELECTIONS: Center-right wins but no majority, according to preliminary results

Greece’s conservative neo-democracy is set to win Sunday’s election, but falls short of a majority that would secure an outright victory, according to preliminary results.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ party is headed for 41%, based on 40% of the vote.

Centre-left Syriza, led by predecessor Alexis Tsipras, is far behind at 20%.

If neither party can form a coalition, Greek voters will return to vote in a second round in early July.

An initial poll indicating a centre-right victory was greeted with cheers at New Democracy’s headquarters in Athens.

The other winner of the election appeared to be Syriza’s socialist rival PASOK, with first results giving 12.3% of the vote.

That would make the party a potential kingmaker in coalition talks in the coming days.

Right-centre Mitsotakis has ruled Greece for the past four years, and he can boast that the country’s growth last year was close to 6%.

His plan for the nation was that only he could be trusted to steer the Greek economy forward and boost recent growth. Most Greeks seem to have responded positively – and more than expected.

But the election campaign was overshadowed by a railway tragedy in February that claimed the lives of 57 people, many of them students.

Opposition parties have highlighted the disaster as a symptom of a dysfunctional state that has been reduced to the bone after years of economic crisis and lack of investment.

Four years ago, winning 40% of the vote would have been enough to secure a majority in Greece’s 300-seat parliament.

Now it takes more than 45%, because the winning party is no longer entitled to the 50-seat bonus in the first round, making the second round more likely.

If New Democracy’s numbers hold, it could form a coalition government with its center-left rivals PASOK. But this is by no means the case.

PASOK leader Nikos Androulakis may find it difficult to work in government with Mitsotakis because of last year’s wiretapping scandal.

Mr Androulakis believes the prime minister knew he was one of dozens of people targeted by illegal spyware.

The scandal led to the resignation of Mitsotakis’ nephew, who was serving as chief of staff to the prime minister, as well as head of Greek intelligence.

Mr. Mitsotakis may decide to direct all his energies into a second round of voting. That would give him an absolute majority and four more years with a government of his choosing.