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Awaiting the second round of local elections in Greece are political parties while counting the number of wins and losses after the Sunday vote. Both major parties – the ruling PASOK and the main opposition party New Democracy – argue for the messages the voters sent and the low turnout, which reached 40%, aroused considerations and problems in all the party headquarters.

The Prime Minister George Panadreou stated the election result satisfies him and he will not demand early elections. He stressed in his statement that all should join the country's efforts to emerge from the crisis. He appealed for unity and national solidarity “to achieve our goals”.

According to the New Democracy leader Antonis Samaras, the Greek people want a change in policy for the country to emerge from the crisis through development. Having said that his party succeeded to achieve what it had expected for the local elections, the opposition leader stressed that people "punished" the PASOK government with their vote for being cheated the last year and for being blackmailed with the dilemma for early elections this year and that all who supported the Memorandum have received their messages. According to Antonis Samaras, just one year after its biggest electoral loss in 2009 New Democracy managed to melt the difference with PASOK.

Sunday elections were more than successful for the Communist Party since the outcome it reached is 12% of the vote in Greece. Its leader Aleko Papariga said "we did not say before the election that the vote criteria are local but political and that satisfies us and confirms our position." Communists believe that the Prime Minister either could not, or did not want to consider the election result which condemned the policy of PASOK.

Similar was the response of the other opposition parties. According to all, the Sunday vote hero was the low turnout. According to political analysts, non-participation in elections can now be characterized as a phenomenon in Greek politics. They stressed also that by non-participating in elections, a large part of the public wished to express their astonishment that local elections grew into a vote of confidence to the government.

Voting-papers counting continue. According to recent data, PASOK's candidate for the regional administration of Crete will win still in the first round with a slight difference from the second candidate who is independent. The ruling party won the South Aegean region and leads the race for five more areas, while New Democracy - in seven. The winners as well as the mayors of the three major municipalities of Athens, Piraeus and Thessaloniki will be determined in the second electoral round next Sunday.