Parliament dissolved, Greece to vote on Jan. 25

Parliament dissolved, Greece to vote on Jan. 25

ATHENS -- The Greek parliament has been dissolved ahead of early elections to be held on January 25, as announced by the Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras.

Greek MPs on Monday failed in their third and final attempt to elect former EU Commissioner Stavros Dimas (73) as head of state.

Dimas was supported by 168 MPs, while 132 were against. 180 votes in favor were necessary to elect him.

Reuters estimated it its report that the country was now "facing elections that could result in abandonment of international assistance programs," and referred to Syriza as "the anti-bailout party."

Officials from the EU and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) "fear that the radical leftist party Syriza could win in early elections - which would bring into question many fiscal reforms in the country."

The party wants to increase salaries and pensions, stop the layoffs and freeze privatization of state assets - key elements of the reforms demanded by creditors.