ATHENS: Greece will hold a general election in the first half of this year, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Saturday, rejecting opposition pressure for snap polls over a wiretapping scandal.
Government sources had earlier said the elections, scheduled for June, would take place any time after April.
“The elections will take place in the spring and at a point when we have practically used up our four-year mandate,” Mitsotakis said.
Opposition parties are demanding the premier’s resignation and seeking early polls over an espionage scandal that allegedly targeted politicians, journalists and business leaders.
Media reports say illegal spyware known as Predator was involved alongside legal means authorised by a prosecutor.
Due to the proportional representation electoral system, experts say no party will secure an absolute majority in the first round of the next election.
Recent surveys polls have shown a New Democracy governing party lead of around eight percent over Syriza, the main opposition party.
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