SYRIZA Wins Greece's Early Election, Official Count Shows

World » SOUTHEAST EUROPE | January 26, 2015, Monday // 07:42
Bulgaria: SYRIZA Wins Greece's Early Election, Official Count Shows Supporters of opposition radical leftist Syriza party celebrate after the initial election results for Greece general elections in Athens, Greece, January 25, 2015.

Leftist SYRIZA party is to win 149 out of 300 seats in Greece's Parliament following early elections held Sunday, two seats short of a majority, according to official results cited by Greek news websites.

The figures show a total of seven parties have made it into Parliament, though this has to be confirmed by the electoral commission of Greece.

Results are already sending shockwaves across Europe after SYRIZA's leader Alexis Tsipras confirmed his commitment to ditching the international agreements under which Greece has had to introduce comprehensive austerity measures in the past few years.

Tsipras said in his Sunday speech after his clear lead was confirmed the so-called "Troika" of international lenders - the EU, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the European Central Bank (ECB) - was a "thing of the past."

With 99.80 percent of ballots counted, the party of Tsipras has garnered 36.34% of the vote. Its number of seats includes a bonus awarded to the winner in Greek parliamentary polls under the county's electoral legislation.

PM Antonis Samaras's conservative New Democracy comes second, with 27.81% and nearly half as much lawmakers (76).

Far-right Golden Dawn party is trailing far behind with 6.28 percent and 17 MPs.

To Potami (The River), a centrist party set up recently, is fourth at 6.05% (also 17 seats).

Communists are next with 5.47% (15), followed by anti-austerity, rightist Independent Greeks (4.75%, 13 seats) and socialist PASOK (4.68%, 13 seats).

The Movement of Democratic Socialists, set up by George Papandreou who was formerly PM and PASOK leader, is to remain below the three-percent threshold at 2.46%.

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Tags: Antonis Samaras, Alexis Tsipras, greece, Syriza, PASOK, New Democracy, George Papandreou, To Potami, golden dawn, Independent Greeks

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