Polls closed in the Greek general elections, with exit polls suggesting a clear victory for the opposition. The polls gave conservative leader Costas Karamanlis' New Democracy party a lead of about 5% over the socialists led by George Papandreou. If the results are confirmed, Papandreou's Pasok party will lose power after 11 years in office. The first poll by the private Alter television - released minutes after voting ended, gave the conservatives 44.5%-47% of the vote, against Pasok's 38.5%-41%. Another poll - by state NET television - said the conservatives had gained 45.5% of the vote, while Pasok polled 40.2%. The conservative New Democracy party had been consistently ahead in opinion polls with the Socialists widely perceived as rife with corruption, inefficiency and political arrogance after leading the country for all but three years since 1981. The Socialists began to claw back last month by turning to their roots and handing the leadership over to popular former foreign minister, George Papandreou, the American-born son of the party's charismatic founder. A win for the Socialists would deepen the party's dominance over Greek affairs and extend the political dynasty of the Papandreou family to a third generation.

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