| New Democracy set to win Greek elections |
ATHENS, Sept. 16 (Xinhua) -- The ruling New Democracy party was by all accounts the winner of general elections in Greece on Sunday, local TV reports.
According to the predictions based on exit polls conducted on behalf of Greek state-run NET television channel as well as the statistics of votes so far, New Democracy might get 153 seats in the parliament and form a government, Panhellenic Socialist Movement 101 seats, Communist Party of Greece 22 seats, Coalition of the Radical Left 13 seats and the Popular Orthodox Rally 11 seats. A lawyer and international affairs expert, 51-year old ND leader Kostas Karamanlis won the elections on his second term after winning elections in March 2004.
Karamanlis is the nephew of Greek statesman Constantine Karamanlis, founder of the New Democracy party, prime minister in the '50s, '60s and again in the '70s, as well as a former president of the republic.
His career as MP began in 1989 at the age of 33 and continued for the next 15 years. Since 1999, he serves as a vice-president of the European People's Party and in June 2002 was elected vice president of the International Democrat Union during the summit of the center-right and Christian Democrat parties in Washington.
Karamanlis studied at the Athens University Law School and continued with post-graduate studies at Tufts University's Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy in Boston.
He is married to Natasa Pazaitis-Karamanlis and is the father of twins, a boy and girl.
The elections came only two weeks after the deadly wildfires in late August which killed 65 people.
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