On Sunday 21st May 2023, Greeks went to vote to elect their next government that would lead them for the next 4 years.  Around 9.8 million voters were registered to elect the next Greek parliament.  With most results in, the ruling New Democracy party was on course for a resounding lead of nearly 21%.  The ND conservative party, led by present Prime Minister Kyriakis Mitsotakis (pictured left) won a landslide election victory but without enough parliamentary seats to form a single-party government.  Specifically, ND garnered 40.79%, winning 146 seats in the 300-seat Parliament, ahead of the allied left-wing party SYRIZA with 20.07% (71 seats) and the socialist PASOK party with 11.46% (41 seats) communist KKE with 7.23% (26 seats) and the nationalist Greek Solution party on 4.45% (16 seats).  

This election win was with the biggest margin over the main opposition since the first post-dictatorship elections held in 1974.  Prime Minister Mitsotakis said that "the victory exceeded all expectations, the message is for New Democracy to be a single-party government".  Sunday's one-off proportional representation system means that ND only gains 146 seats, five short of a governing majority.  New elections, expected on Sunday 25th June, will revert to the previous system that grants the winning party a bonus of 50 seats.  That would ensure Mitsotakis a comfortable majority for a second term in power. 

On Monday, Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou is due to hand Mitsotakis the mandate to try to form a coalition government, which he is expected to return.  If Mitsotakis hands back the mandate, it will then pass to SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras, and then to PASOK leader Nikos Androulakis, neither of whom have any realistic chance of success.

The President of Greece appointed Ioannis Sarmas, a senior judge, as caretaker prime minister until new elections take place on 25th June.  Sarmas, president of the Court of Audit, was appointed after the meeting with five major political parties' leaders in parliament, which confirmed that there was no possibility for a coalition government following Sunday's election.