Sharjah24 - AFP: Greeks voted on Sunday in a general election that could deliver an indecisive outcome with leading candidate Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis asking to be returned to power to ensure a "stronger country".
The EU nation is in fairly robust economic health, with unemployment and inflation falling and growth this year projected to reach twice that of the bloc -- a far cry from the throes of a crippling debt crisis a decade ago.
But economic issues remain squarely in focus despite a post-Covid tourism revival that helped Greece book growth of 5.9 percent last year.
Mitsotakis, 55, has urged voters not to squander hard-fought economic stability.
"We are voting for our future, for more and better jobs, for a more efficient health care system, for a stronger country with an important role in Europe and protected borders," he said after casting his ballot along with two of his three children.
But his main opponent, former leftist premier Alexis Tsipras, has warned that the rosy figures belie growing poverty as wages fail to keep pace with rising prices.
Tsipras is seeking a comeback after a first mandate in 2015 to 2019, during which he led rocky negotiations with creditors that nearly crashed Greece out of the euro.
He called on the country to "turn the page on four difficult years" and pick a "fair government for a better future".
Five people were arrested near Karditsa, central Greece, on suspicion of vote fraud after being found illegally in possession of ballots and over 6,000 euros ($6,490) in cash, police said Sunday.
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