Greece's main opposition Socialist PASOK party received the largest share of votes in the European Parliament election, according to exit polls released after voting booths closed at 7pm (1700 GMT) on Sunday, according to dpa. PASOK won 37 per cent of the votes while the ruling conservative New Democracy Party received 34 per cent, according to exit polls results released by Greek state television ERT and various private television channels. Coming in third was the Communist Party of Greece with between 8 and 10 per cent and closely following the left-wing party Synasprismos with 6 per cent and the Green Ecologists with 4.5 per cent. The final results will be announced later on Sunday when voting will be completed across the European Union. The recent economic downturn, which was accompanied by street riots and strikes, as well as other recent scandals have put the ruling New Democracy Party at a political disadvantage against the Socialists. A recent case involving Siemens in implications of large-scale corruption, bribery and money-laundering over a 1990s state telecoms contract has led to large-scale public outrage. Other controversies included a property swap deal with an Orthodox monastery which allegedly cost taxpayers millions, and revelations that a former merchant marine minister accepted bribes from a shipping company to secure sea routes.
