Polls open in Greece’s first election since end of bailout controls

But deep divisions between the two main parties and four smaller ones expected to enter parliament mean a coalition will be hard to come by, making a second election likely on July 2

A woman stands in front of the parliament, in Athens, Greece, Saturday, May 20, 2023, a day before the general elections. Sunday’s Greek parliamentary election looks likely to be a dress rehearsal for a new round of voting in the busy summer tourist season — barring a surprise coalition deal by dissonant opposition parties. (Michael Varaklas, AP)

Polls have opened in Greece’s parliamentary election, the first since the country’s economy ceased to be subject to strict supervision and control by international lenders who had provided bailout funds during its nearly decade-long financial crisis.

The two main contenders in Sunday’s vote are conservative prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, 55, a Harvard-educated former banker, and 48-year-old Alexis Tsipras, who heads the left-wing Syriza party and served as prime minister during some of the financial crisis’ most turbulent years.