3rd LD Writethru: Voting starts in Greek general elections

Greek voters started casting their ballots Sunday in the second general elections this year to elect a new government that will implement the latest three year bailout agreed in the summer with international creditors.

Polling stations are open early in the morning. About 9.8 million citizens of 18 years and above registered to vote in the 19,457 polling stations nationwide. The number of eligible new voters stands at 108,464.

The two frontrunners are former prime minister and leader of the radical-left SYRIZA party Alexis Tsipras, and Evangelos Meimarakis of the conservative New Democracy (ND) party.

"Greek citizens with their participation will not allow others to make decisions for them. They will take their future in their hands and seal the transition to a new era," Tsipras said in a statement to the press after casting his ballot.

"They will give a mandate for continuity, stability and progress," he added, pledging that a new SYRIZA-led administration would continue the battles within Greece and in Europe for people's rights.

"I believe we will have a better future for all Greeks regardless of which party they vote for," said Meimarakis after casting his ballot.

"I hope the result will vindicate Greek people's sacrifices," Greek

President Prokopis Pavlopoulos said after casting his ballot.

Leaders of smaller parties such as the anti-bailout Communist Party KKE's General Secretary Dimitris Koutsoumbas, the leader of the newly formed leftist Popular Union party Panagiotis Lafazanis, and Panos Kammenos, leader of the right-wing Independent Greeks (ANEL) party, also made pleas for a big turnout.

The head of the centrist small Potami party Stavros Theodorakis, and Fofi Gennimata, leader of the small PASOK socialist party, which runs with the small Democratic Left party, stressed the need for consensus after the elections.

Though both of the front runners and leaders of smaller parties are committed to the implementation of the bailout this time, enthusiasm and passion are lacking.

SYRIZA and the ND were almost tied in all opinion surveys conducted over the past months with the leftists gaining a slight lead within the marginal error in the final stretch, according to pollsters.

A few hours before the ballots open for the fifth national polls in six years, about 10 percent of voters were still undecided and pollsters expected a high abstention rate of more than 45 percent due to voter fatigue and disappointment.

In the past elections in recent years, Greeks headed to the polls to choose between the pro-bailout and pro-euro forces and anti-austerity and anti-bailout parties, with SYRIZA leading the latter.

In the Jan. 25 elections, SYRIZA won and formed the first left-led government in Greece's modern history.

After marathon negotiations with lenders and the closure of banks to avoid collapse of the banking system when the second bailout expired in late June, Tsipras made a U-turn and signed the third bailout to avert disorderly default and exit.

Following a party rift over the bailout, the 41-year-old premier quit, triggering the snap polls. He asked voters for a second opportunity to rule with a new stable government.

SYRIZA tried to woo voters this time by pledging to make the utmost effort to ease the pain of the new round of austerity policies.

The ND, on the other hand, offered "stability over inconsistency and risky experiments."

In the past, the dilemmas put forward were more dramatic as SYRIZA was threatening to tear up bailouts and the country's fate was hanging in balance, political analysts in Athens noted. This time the question is which party will better implement the same plan.

Regardless of which party comes first, surveys showed that none of the two frontrunners are close to gaining an absolute majority in the next 300 member strong parliament. Therefore coalition partnerships are required.

The preliminary exit polls are expected shortly after the voting ends. The official estimates will be released by the Interior Ministry late Sunday. Endi