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Thursday, 21 November 2024 | ||
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Athens News Agency: News in English, 09-10-04Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>CONTENTS
[01] First exit polls give PASOK lead, Parliament majority (adds)George Papandreou's main opposition PASOK party appears to have garnered a large enough percentage of the vote on Sunday to form a self-sufficient government in Greece, according to the first unified exit poll carried out for a Greek general election and announced immediately after 7 p.m. (17.00 GMT).Papandreou, a former foreign minister, and his PASOK party apparently scored a landslide victory over Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis and the ruling New Democracy party, thus ending the latter's five-and-a-half-year rule. Specifically, the unified exit poll, aired by most Athens television stations, gave PASOK between 41 to 44 percent of the vote to ND's 34.3 to 37.3 percent, with PASOK eying 151 to 159 projected MPs in Parliament, narrowly over the 150-limit (out of a 300-deputy legislature) needed to form a self-sufficient government. In terms of smaller parties, the Communist Party of Greece's (KKE) estimated tally was 7.3 to 8.3 percent; 3.9 to 4.9 percent for the Radical Left Coalition (SYRIZA) parliamentary alliance; 5 to 6 percent for the Popular Orthodox Rally (LA.OS) and 2 to 3 percent for the newly formed Ecologists-Greens party, which appears -- based on initial exit polls -- not to have reached the 3-percent ceiling needed to enter Parliament. The exit poll was conducted by the firms GPO, Alco, MARC, Metron Analysis and MRB-RASS, and presented by the state-run NET station, along with the private Alpha, Alter, ANT1 and Mega TV channels. Another exit poll carried out by the Public Issue firm for the SKAI TV channel showed the following results: ND: 35.5 percent PASOK: 41 percent KKE: 8 LA.OS: 6 SYRIZA: 4.5 Ecologists-Greens: 3 The latter figure for the Ecologists-Greens would mean an all-night "nail-biter" for the party to determine whether it enters Parliament. [02] PASOK landslide, eyes Parliament majorityMain opposition PASOK party and its leader George Papandreou posted a landslide election victory on Sunday in Greece's snap election, garnering 43.33 percent of the vote with 10.07 percent of precincts reporting nationwide at roughly 9 p.m. (21.00 GMT).PASOK was leading ruling New Democracy party by up to 7 percentage points, with the latter receiving 36.24 percent at the same 10-percent mark. Earlier, a unified exit poll aired by most Athens television stations gave PASOK between 41 to 44 percent of the vote to ND's 34.3 to 37.3 percent, with PASOK eying 151 to 159 projected MPs in Parliament, easily over the 150-limit (out of a 300-deputy legislature) needed to form a self-sufficient government. A 43.33-percent figure would translate into 160 MPs for PASOK, while ND's tally, if it stands, would be in the mid 90s. In terms of smaller Parliament-represented parties, the Communist Party of Greece's (KKE) stood at 7 percent; 4 percent for the Radical Left Coalition (SYRIZA) parliamentary alliance; 5.24 percent for the Popular Orthodox Rally (LA.OS) and 2.12 percent for the newly formed Ecologists-Greens party, which appears -- based on exit polls -- unable to exceed the 3-percent ceiling needed to enter Parliament. The exit poll was conducted by the firms GPO, Alco, MARC, Metron Analysis and MRB-RASS, and presented by the state-run NET station, along with the private Alpha, Alter, ANT1 and Mega TV channels. Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |