SOCIALISTS WIN GREEK VOTE, PM KARAMANLIS CONCEDED DEFEAT

Socialist leader George Papandreou

The New Democracy Party of Greece's Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis has conceded defeat in the general elections, handing power to the opposition Socialist party.

• With 87 percent of votes counted, the PanHellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) party is leading with 44 percent of the ballot, compared with New Democracy's 34 percent, according to figures announced by the Interior Ministry late on Sunday.
• The margin, which indicates a victory for PASOK, is the largest seen in a Greek vote in decades.
• This could mean 160 seats for the Socialists in Greece's 300-seat Parliament, while the ruling party would receive only 93 seats, officials said, CNN reported.
• PASOK's leader George Papandreou is set to become the next Greek Prime Minister promising to chart a new course for an economic comeback, while the country is on the brink of recession, a growing deficit and low budget revenues.
• The 57-year-old political leader had promised a EUR 3 billion (USD 4.36 billion) stimulus package on a platform of raising taxes for the rich and easing them for the poor.
• Premier Karamanlis, on the other hand, admitted defeat at the election center in central Athens and stepped down from his party's leadership.

Source: Press TV