Athens – Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulos today entrusted the chairman of the Greek Court of Auditors, judge Joannis Sarmas, with the formation of a transitional government that will prepare new parliamentary elections. New elections could be held on June 25, according to unofficial information from local media. It will take place because after Sunday's vote the leader of neither party accepted the offer to form a government.
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< p>Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis' conservative New Democracy (ND) party won Sunday's parliamentary election, winning a total of 146 seats in the 300-member parliament. As it was not enough for her to have a separate government majority, Mitsotakis refused the mandate to form a government, saying that she wanted a monochromatic cabinet. After him, the chairman of the largest opposition party SYRIZA, Alexis Tsipras, and the leader of the social democratic party PASOK, Nikos Andrulakis, returned the mandate to form a government to the president.
According to the Greek constitution, the president must appoint a transitional government if none of the attempts to form a government succeed. “It is a great honor, a constitutional obligation and a civic duty to accept this responsibility,” said Sarmas, who will be sworn in as the new prime minister on Thursday, according to the Greek press. His ministers could take office as early as Friday, reports CNN Greece.
66-year-old Judge Sarmas, who presides over the highest financial court in Greece, will be tasked with preparing new parliamentary elections. His interim government should be confirmed by the new parliament, which will meet for the first time on Sunday and which will be dissolved next week.
Sunday's election did not give the winning party a majority in parliament, as it was held under a new system and unlike previous years the winner did not receive the bonus of 50 seats. But the new system also takes into account the fact that in repeat elections, the party that wins first will receive a bonus. If the winner gets 25 percent of the vote, he will get an additional 20 mandates. The bonus will be higher, the more votes the winning party gets in the election. It can get a maximum of 50 additional seats if it wins with at least 40 percent of the vote. For every additional half percent over 25 percent, he gets one seat as a bonus.
