Opposition Greek socialist leader George Papandreou has conceded defeat in Sunday's parliamentary elections, handing victory to the ruling New Democracy Party.
With more than half the votes counted, official results give New Democracy about 156 seats in the 300 seat parliament. The socialist PSAOK party will win 103 seats.
Several smaller parties have also won seats.
Papandreou said the people have decided even if the results are what he calls unfavorable.
Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis declared victory moments later as he spoke to thousands of New Democracy supporters in Athens. He said voters have given him a clear mandate to continue with reforms.
Mr. Karamanlis called for Sunday's early election, confident that his economic record would keep his party in power. But he faced sharp criticism from the opposition who said his response to last month's devastating wildfires was slow and inadequate.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
