November 15, 2010
With 75 per cent of the national vote counted, the governing party led in eight of 13 races for regional governors, clinching the contest in greater Athens and three other regions.
The result provided a badly needed boost for Prime Minister George Papandreou, who is facing growing discontent over austerity and rising unemployment – as well as pressure from European partners to make deeper cuts.
On Monday, the European Union is expected to announce an upward revision of Greek budget deficit figures, including for the year 2009, while officials from the EU and International Monetary Fund are due in Athens for another inspection of cost-cutting efforts.
Mr Papandreou called Sunday's result a vote of confidence in his austerity reforms and a defeat for the conservatives who campaigned against the terms of a €110 billion (£93 billion) bail-out loan agreement with the IMF and EU.
"Today the citizens have shown the way forward as we proceed on our course, and have rejected cries of destabilisation," he said in a televised address.
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