Politics by country

Polls in Greece closed at 7 p.m. on Sunday, and the exit polls show New Democracy leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis and his conservative New Democracy defeating Alexis Tsipras' leftist SYRIZA party and securing an outright majority in Parliament. Stay with our live blog for the most up-to-date news and developments as results come in.

• 9,813,595 million Greek citizens are eligible to vote in the elections; Greeks living abroad have already cast their votes.
• Running for office are 32 parties, four coalitions of parties and two individuals standing as independents.

Greeks went to the polls on Sunday for the second time in little over a month to elect a new parliament, with voters expected to give former Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis' conservatives a second term in office.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu plan to meet next month in Ankara in an attempt to warm up their bilateral relations, according to reports. 

Greek Communist Party secretary-general Dimitris Koutsoumpas voted in Lamia on Sunday and called on Greek voters to give his party a strong mandate.

"Until voting stations close tonight we must all be there to make the Greek Communist Party strong and take it higher, as this is the only way to have a strong, popular, combative opposition," he said.

Alexis Tsipras, leader of left-wing party SYRIZA, stated that these elections are important for the future of democracy in Greece from the voting station in Peristeri where he cast his ballot.

Greeks were voting Sunday in the second general election in less than two months, with the conservative party in power for the last four years a strong favorite to win with a wide majority.

Party leaders have been hosting their traditional gatherings with political reporters ahead of Sunday's election.

New Democracy leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis gathered with journalists at a cafe on Ermou Street, in central Athens, where much of the conversation was said to have focused on the upcoming election results and developments in Russia.

Russian mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin was notorious for unbridled and profane challenges to authority even before the attempted rebellion that he mounted Saturday. The reported agreement for him to go into exile in Belarus would place him in a country where such behavior is even less acceptable than in his homeland.

Barring any big surprises, Sunday's election race will be a personal triumph for Kyriakos Mitsotakis. Come Monday morning, Greece will be in the unprecedented position of having a new government and no real opposition. SYRIZA is looking at a long period of introspection, with the prospect of dropping back down to the 3% threshold looming large.