Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is set to announce snap elections later on Thursday, according to state broadcaster ERT. The move comes after Athens managed to pay a huge piece of its debt – €3.4 billion ($3.79 billion) – to the ECB.Numerous sources earlier speculated that the snap elections may be held in September (13 or 20), other spoke of October, after all the scheduled repayments to international lenders are through. Report RT
Local media have been speculating about the possible upcoming announcement since Thursday morning.
Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos, in particular, told ERT that this time the election “will not be the same as those of 2012, because now there is agreement, and there is a framework for the recapitalization of banks.”
An unnamed Greek official, when asked by journalists if Tsipras could announce snap elections in coming hours, said “everything is possible“, Reuters reports.
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Energy Minister Panos Skourletis and other politicians have been recently calling for the government to return to the ballot box.
“The political landscape must clear up. We need to know whether the government has or does not have a majority,” he told ERT.
On Friday, eurozone finance ministers agreed to a third bailout program for the crisis-stricken country. Athens will receive a total of €86 billion over three years.
The same day, the Greek parliament approved a draft law enacting a third bailout plan. Forty-three members of Tsipras’s Syriza party, including former Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis, voted against the bill or abstained. The party holds 149 seats in the parliament.