[01] PASOK WINS ELECTIONS, WILL TAKE GREECE INTO THE NEXT MILLENIUM

[02] NEW DEMOCRACY LEADER MILTIADES EVERT RESIGNS FROM POST

[03] THREE LEADING MINOR OPPOSITION PARTIES HAVE SEATS SET IN PARLIAMENT

[04] SECOND EXIT POLL GIVES THE LEAD TO RULING SOCIALIST PARTY

[05] PASOK CONFIDENT AND OPTIMISTIC WITH EXIT POLL RESULTS SO FAR

[06] WAIT FOR OFFICIAL RESULTS, NEW DEMOCRACY URGES

[07] FIRST EXIT POLLS GIVE LEAD TO PASOK, MINOR OPPOSITION IN PARLIAMENT

[08] GREEKS EN MASSE CAST THEIR VOTE IN TODAY'S PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS

[09]GREECE'S POLITICAL LEADERS, CANDIDATES CAST THEIR VOTE LIKE ALL CITIZENS

[10]GREECE'S 165TH GOVERNMENT SINCE FIRST PARLIAMENT IN OFFICE TOMORROW

[11] BALKAN MEDIA GIVE PRIORITY COVERAGE TO GREECE'S ELECTIONS

NEWS IN DETAIL

[01] PASOK WINS ELECTIONS, WILL TAKE GREECE INTO THE NEXT MILLENIUM

A clearly exuberant man, Prime Minister and PASOK President Kostas Simitis announced tonight his party's victory in Greece's general elections, although it is a victory that could easily be claimed as his very own since he was the one who took the gamble to call this year's snap elections a year before they were due.

Mr. Simitis, 60 years old, studied law and economics in Germany and England, respectively, and has taught in German and Greek universities. He and his wife Daphne have two daughters.

His resume features a lengthy political career. Mr. Simitis fought the military junta that had seized power in Greece in 1967 and became a founding member of Andreas Papandreou's Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) in 1974 when the dictatorhsip was overthrown. He has headed the Ministries of Agriculture, National Economy, Education and Industry, all in socialist governments since 1981, when Mr. Papandreou became Greece's first socialist Prime Minister.

In his victory speech, Mr. Simitis stated that these elections marked a day of decisions and responsibilities.

"Today, the Greek people showed that they want a new path for Greece and its society," he stated.

"Today's victory is the victory of all those who believe in a society of solidarity and those who wish for a society of freedom, creativity and initiatives.

"Today's victory is a victory of ideas, principles and values of alll those who demand social responsibility, a society of the citizens," Mr. Simitis added.

He also referred to the pre-election period and was not the least bit favorable to the tactics used by the opposition in its campaign.

"This result also conveys another message. During the pre-election campaign the use of black propaganda was especially pronounced," he stated, adding "the Greek people though gave their answer to this type of competition. They disdain it. The Greek people want substance, want quality, want ethos and authority, all in accordance to the level that we want the country to have in the world."

[02] NEW DEMOCRACY LEADER MILTIADES EVERT RESIGNS FROM POST

Nobly claiming full responsibility for his party's defeat, the leader of the country's main opposition party New Democracy's Miltiades Evert announced his resignation tonight, minutes after it had become clear that he did not have a chance at the coveted premiership during today's elections.

"I resign from the post of President of New Democracy and tomorrow, in accordance with the Articles of the Party, I will announce the process for the appointment of the new leader," stated a solemn Mr. Evert in front of the television cameras.

"I would like to say," he continued, "that I apologize to the party's principal members for being informed of my decision through the television networks, but we must first communicate with the Greek people," and added "I personally claim the responsibility of this result."

Staying in line with tradition, Mr. Evert congratulated Prime Minister and PASOK President Kostas Simitis for his victory and forwarded his wish to the other parties which entered the Greek Parliament.

"I congratulate Mr. Simitis and all the parties that enter Parliament. I want to believe that he will help the country to overcome all its problems. New Democracy will continue to help him, especially on foreign issues," the N.D. leader stated and thanked all the members and supporters of New Democracy "who participated in this fight."

A few hours after Mr. Evert's resignation announcement, N.D.'s former Minister of National Economy Stephanos Manos announced his candidacy for the party's presidency.

[03] THREE LEADING MINOR OPPOSITION PARTIES HAVE SEATS SET IN PARLIAMENT

The September 22 1996 elections appear to have opened the doors of Parliament to four of Greece's minor parties, according to late-night vote readings, although one may still be in a precarious position.

Communist Party of Greece (KKE) Secretary-General Aleka Paparega stated that "today's elections featured two positive points, first it maintained KKE in Parliament and upgraded it to third party status, and second it reduced the electoral percentages of both PASOK and New Democracy."

Upon hearing that his party had earned the necessary votes to enter Parliament, Coalition of the Left and Progress (Synaspismos) party leader Nikos Konstantopoulos stated that his party will honor the votes it was given and will strive to be creative.

Democratic and Social Movement (DHKKI) Party leader Dimitris Tsovolas thanked all the voters who honored the party's founding as a historic and social need, "in spite of those who attempted to alter this historic and political truth."

Political Spring party leader Antonis Samaras promised that his party will continue the fight and warned that the country is entering a new cycle of national concessions and austerity. Judging from readings available at one a.m., it was unclear if Political Spring had earned the necessary three per cent to enter Parliament.

So far, with 43.7% of the electoral districts having announced the aggregate votes, the allocation is as follows: PASOK, 41.9% with 162 seats, New Democracy 38.5%, 110 seats, KKE 5.3%, 10 seats, Synaspismos 5%, 19 seats, DHKKI 4.3% eight seats, Political Spring 2.8%.

[04] SECOND EXIT POLL GIVES THE LEAD TO RULING SOCIALIST PARTY

As the ballots are being counted in the country's polling stations, Greek political analysts are feverishly trying to predict a winner from exit polls that are conducted on an almost hourly basis.

According to the second exit poll broadcast by the greek media tonight, with 85% of the taken samples counted, the country's ruling socialist party PASOK has the lead with a 42.1%, including an error margin of 1%, followed by the main opposition party New Democracy's 39% -error margin 1.4%.

The country's four leading minor parties have been allocated the following percentages so far: Communist Party of Greece (KKE) 4.9%, Coalition of the Left and Progress (Synaspismos) 4.5%, Democratic and Social Movement (DHKKI) 3.9% and Political Spring 3.2%.

According to these estimates, the distribution of parliamentary seats is assessed as follows: PASOK 162, New Democracy 105, KKE 10, Coalition 9, DHKKI 8 and Political Spring 6.

Greece's unicameral parliament has 300 seats filled by 288 parliamentarians elected by direct suffrage and 12 "deputies of state" elected on a national scale.

The leader of the party that wins an overall majority will form a cabinet and, as a premier, will ask parliament for a vote of confidence in his government, which will have a four-year mandate.

[05] PASOK CONFIDENT AND OPTIMISTIC WITH EXIT POLL RESULTS SO FAR

Greece' ruling socialist party, PASOK, is likely to enjoy a landslide victory based on the up-to-the-minute results provided by the exit polls that show PASOK as being well ahead, stated the party's spokesperson Kostas Laliotis.

Mr. Laliotis stated that, based on these polls, the gap between PASOK and the main opposition party New Democracy will be wide - with at least three points difference.

Referring to the minor parties' percentages, Mr. Laliotis also emphasized that based on the exit polls, all parties appear to have broken through the critical three per cent ceiling to enter parliament.

Nevertheless, Mr. Laliotis refrained from making early guesses on the conclusive outcome of today's general elections prior to the official announcement of the counted votes.

[06] WAIT FOR OFFICIAL RESULTS, NEW DEMOCRACY URGES

With the first exit polls having been measured and the aniticipation heightening minute by minute, the country's main opposition party New Democracy advises the early forecasters to slow down.

"We should wait for the first concentrated results before we draw any conclusions," stated the N.D. spokesperson Prokopis Pavlopoulos this evening, commenting on the first exit polls conducted by the greek media which show his party as lagging behind the ruling PASOK.

However, Mr. Pavlopoulos conceded that -thus far- the readings bear serious indications.

"Admittedly, the poll results at the electoral precincts carry a strong possibility of becoming true," he stated, adding that nevertheless, it is imperative that the official results be announced first before drawing any conclusion.

In any case, Mr. Pavlopoulos stated, the N.D. President Miltiades Evert will await the official results before making any statement.

[07] FIRST EXIT POLLS GIVE LEAD TO PASOK, MINOR OPPOSITION IN PARLIAMENT

Greece's ruling socialist PASOK party appears to have the lead in today's general elections, according to the exit polls conducted by the greek media minutes after the voting process closed at 7:23 p.m. tonight.

The state-owned radio-television network ERT, having thus far measured 75 per cent of its sample-taking, show PASOK with 42.3 per cent of the aggregate votes, with a variation of approximately 1.1%, while the main opposition New Democracy is shown with 38.9 per cent, taking into account an error margin of approximately 1.09%.

In the four -leading- minor opposition parties, the percentages in the exit polls are as follows: Communist Party of Greece (KKE) 4.9% -error margin of .5%, Coalition of the Left and Progress (Synaspismos) with 4.5% -error margin of .5%, Democratic and Social Movement (DHKKI) 3.8% -error margin of .4%, and Political Spring with 3.2% -error margin of .4%.

[08] GREEKS EN MASSE CAST THEIR VOTE IN TODAY'S PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS

Greece's 8,862,814 registered voters will cast their vote during today's parliamentary elections which are being carried out trouble-free in the country's 17,710 polling stations.

Polls opened at sunrise, 7.13 a.m, and will close at sunset, 7.23 pm. New voters number 492,000 while exempt from voting are persons over the age of 70 or those who live over 200 km away from their precincts. Voting is compulsory for people 18 to 70, and possible penalties for abstention include a jail term up to one year or losing the right to issue a passport.

Party-slates in each district include candidates equal to the number of seats to be filled in the constituency. Voters choose candidates by placing a cross next to their names. Ballots marked with more crosses than those allowed are not invalid but are considered as a vote for the party.

The first assessments on the outcome of the elections are expected to be announced at about 8.30 p.m. tonight.

The country's transportation and transit organizations, Olympic Airways, Greek Railway Organization and privately-owned transit buses, have pumped up their services with added routes in order to enable Greeks to travel to their electoral districts. Also, chartered flights are arriving from Germany with Greek citizens living abroad who came to cast their vote.

[09]GREECE'S POLITICAL LEADERS, CANDIDATES CAST THEIR VOTE LIKE ALL CITIZENS

Just like any other ordinary Greek citizen, the President of the Hellenic Republic Kostis Stephanopoulos voted this afternoon in Patra and expressed his hope that whichever government emerges victorious during today's parliamentary elections, it will be able to successfully face the country's problems.

When asked to assess the overall climate of this year's elections, President Stephanopoulos responded that he did not get involved in the pre-election process and, as such, does not have an opinion to express.

Prime Minister and PASOK President Kostas Simitis, who voted in Pireaus, characterized today's electons as being "critical."

Speaking to reporters, Mr. Simitis stated that "the Greek citizen must judge, compare and assess the political parties, the political leaders and the solutions these parties suggest.

"If the Greek citizen judges, compares and assesses based on his interests, we believe that he will vote for PASOK," Mr. Simitis stated, supporting that "PASOK is the party which features the strength and has the positoins to drive the country to the new era, to the world of the 21st century."

The main opposition leader, New Democracy's Miltiades Evert, opted to cast his vote in northern Greece's isolated Tavri community, located near Evros, in his effort to communicate that Greece's isolated regions have and must continue to have a future.

"The message that I wish to convey is a message of optimism," Mr. Evert stated.

"I believe that the isolated regions have a future and must continue to have future," he explained.

Minor opposition leader, Political Spring's Antonis Samaras, voted in Messinia this morning and stated that "today, through their vote, the Greek people will change the political roles in Greece and tomorrow Political Spring will change Greece."

Secretary-General of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE), Aleka Paparega voted in Athens. Ms. Paparega promised that her party, with added force will stand by the workers, in order to best counter those who wish to impose the policies of austerity and unemployment.

Coalition of the Left and Progress (Synaspismos) President Nikos Konstantopoulos also voted in Athens. Mr. Konstantopoulos characterized these elections as being "critical" and expressed the hope that his party will gain a seat in Parliament.

"I hope that these elections will be a great start for the Coalition party," he stated.

Dimitris Tsovolas, President of the Democratic and Social Movement (DHKKI) also voted in Athens.

[10]GREECE'S 165TH GOVERNMENT SINCE FIRST PARLIAMENT IN OFFICE TOMORROW

Greece votes on its 165th government today, since the establishment of parliamentary democracy in the country, thereby marking the 18th elections since the German Occupation and the ninth in line after the fall of the junta in 1974.

Since the historic date of September 3 1843, when the country's absolute monarchy was abolished and the Constitution of the Hellenes was established, the first free elections were held to appoint the National Assembly and to turn a new page in the nation's political history.

Andreas Metaxas was Greece's first Prime Minister who, following the September 3 revolution, formed a partisan government which annnounced elections on September 7 1843. This Constitutional Assembly, which voted on the constitution and the first election law, evolved from the elections held during the first days of November 1843 and comprised 244 representatives of 92 electoral precincts.

[11] BALKAN MEDIA GIVE PRIORITY COVERAGE TO GREECE'S ELECTIONS

Greece's Balkan neighbors are eagerly awaiting the outcome of today's parliamentary elections, most of them granting "front page" status to the news.

In FYROM, numerous reports point out that the existing name issue beween Skopje and Athens was not at the epicenter of this year's pre-election campaigns of the Greek political parties.

In Yugoslavia, Serb media assess that Greece's elections will be marked by a narrow margin between the two leading parties, ruling PASOK and main opposition New Democracy.

Bulgarian media also point to a narrow margin victory, while extensive coverage is given to Greece's smaller parties. Also, the Bulgarian state radio assesses that it will be Greece's undecided voters who will make the difference this year, as they are thought to represent 20 per cent of the electoral body.

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