Greece voted Sunday in an early general election that could alter the course of the country’s struggle with crippling debts, with a radical left party poised to win by promising to rewrite the terms of its international bailout.
The Syriza party led by Alexis Tsipras has remained firmly ahead of conservative Prime Minister Antonis Samaras’ New Democracy party in opinion polls throughout the election campaign, which was called two years ahead of schedule.
But those polls also have shown that a significant portion of voters remained undecided until the last minute, and suggest that Syriza might struggle to win enough parliamentary seats to form a government on its own.
“These elections are crucial for our future and for the future of our children,” Samaras said after he cast his ballot in a southern Greek town. “Today we decide whether we will go forward with strength, with security, with assuredness, or whether we will head into adventures.”
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The new government also must negotiate some kind of relief for Greece’s 320 billion euro debt and bolster weak growth.
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Associated Press reporter Demetris Nellas in Athens contributed to this report.
