Weary Greeks head to the polls for the third time in eight weeks on September 20. Shocked by capital controls that led to the shutdown of the banking system and the arrival of former PM Alexis Tsipras with the third and harshest bailout yet, the winner of Sunday’s election will have their work cut out for them.
Here are some facts marking the Sept 20 election:
* The last elections in January 25, 2015, saw Alexis Tsipras win with a clear majority after promising to renegotiate the austere terms.
* Seven months of tough negotiations have left Greece on the brink of bankruptcy!
* 10% of voters are still undecided.
* 25% of Greeks are unemployed (official figures), whereas the Greek economy had shrunk by more than 25% at the start of the year.
* The winning party needs 151 of the 300-seat parliament to govern. There are 50 bonus parliamentary seats given to the majority government.
* A coalition government needs to be formed if there is no clear majority. Failure to create a coalition would mean another round of elections.
* The cost of the three elections for 2015 is at 111 mln euros:
Snap elections on January 25 – 51.1 million euros
Referendum on July 5 – 26.7 million euros
Estimations for the Septemer 20 elections – 33.2 million euros
* Greeks are tired of elections and may not even show up. With harsh memorandum terms already voted upon, it seems pretty pointless and there is no real passion for the election.
