By IANS,
Athens : Greece President Karolos Papoulias has tasked Antonis Samaras, head of the conservative New Democracy party, with forming a government, the Greek state television reported Monday.
Voting was held Sunday for the crucial elections in Greece with an expectation that they would determine the country’s future in the Eurozone, with the main contenders being the right-wing New Democracy and left-wing Syriza.
New Democracy won 129 of the 300 parliamentary seats in Sunday’s vote, opening the way for a coalition with the third-placed socialist party, Pasok, which has 33 seats, RIA Novosti reported.
According to BBC, with almost all ballots counted, New Democracy has 29.7 percent of the vote (129 seats), Syriza 26.9 percent (71) and Pasok 12.3 percent (33). There are 300 seats in parliament and Greece has a rule that gives the leading party 50 extra seats.
New Democracy and Pasok have pledged to implement an austerity programme in bailout deals worth over 200 billion euros, with the European Union and International Monetary Fund, to avert Greek bankruptcy.
The leftist Syriza party has refused to join a coalition and declared itself in firm opposition to the bailout deal.
“The Greek people expressed their will to stay anchored with the euro, remain an integral part of the eurozone and honour the country’s commitments,” Samaras said Sunday.
“There is no time for petty politics.”
Sunday’s polls were being watched across the world amid fears that a Greek exit from the euro could spread to other Eurozone members and send turmoil throughout the global economy, BBC reported.
The election, the second in six weeks, was called after the May 6 polls proved inconclusive.
Meanwhile, the main contenders in Sunday’s elections were at odds over whether broadly to stick with the tough EU bailout deal, or reject it and boost social spending.
Tough austerity measures were attached to the two international bailouts awarded to Greece, an initial package worth 110 billion euros ($138 billion) in 2010, then a follow-up last year worth 130 billion euros ($164 billion).