Pushing the date of general elections earlier than had been planned is a matter of sensitivity towards democracy, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said on Tuesday, confirming that snap elections will be held on July 7.
Speaking to state broadcaster ERT, Tsipras said that he intends to meet with Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos on Monday, June 10, to ask him for early elections.
Tsipras had called for the snap elections after his party’s dismal showing in the European and local elections. His SYRIZA party won less than 23.7 percent of the popular vote, compared with the opposition New Democracy Party’s 33.1 percent.
The governing party also suffered crushing defeats in regional and local elections, as it lost in 12 out of the 13 regions of the country.
Tsipras also revealed that his government would bring legislation before Parliament to cancel the lowering of an exemption on income taxes before the election.
The measure would otherwise have come into effect next year and would have resulted in lower take-home pay for all Greeks.
Tsipras also called on the New Democracy Party to support the bill, which will be voted on next week.
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