Leftists ahead in last polls before Greek national election

Alexis Tsipras, leader of Greece's Syriza left-wing main opposition party enjoys a lunch with colleagues and journalists in central Athens, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2015. The radical left opposition Syriza party, which has vowed to rewrite the terms of Greece's international bailout, is expected to defeat Prime Minister Antonis Samaras' conservatives as Greece goes to the polls Sunday, Jan. 25, 2015 in a snap general election. Although expected to win, it is unclear whether Syriza will get enough parliamentary seats to form a government alone, or will have to seek a coalition deal with other parties. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis) Alexis Tsipras, leader of Greece's Syriza left-wing main opposition party enjoys a lunch with colleagues and journalists in central Athens, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2015. The radical left opposition Syriza party, which has vowed to rewrite the terms of Greece's international bailout, is expected to defeat Prime Minister Antonis Samaras' conservatives as Greece goes to the polls Sunday, Jan. 25, 2015 in a snap general election. Although expected to win, it is unclear whether Syriza will get enough parliamentary seats to form a government alone, or will have to seek a coalition deal with other parties. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)

By Associated Press January 24, 2015 3 min read

ATHENS, Greece (AP) – Syriza, the radical left-wing party that has vowed to rewrite the terms of the country’s international bailout and end harsh austerity measures, held the lead in the last polls released ahead of Sunday’s national election.

The last nine polls published on Friday – the last day of campaigning – showed Syriza’s lead over the ruling New Democracy conservatives trending upward. Syriza led by anywhere from 2.8 to 6.7 percentage points. Syriza has taken advantage of widespread discontent over an economy that has shrunk by nearly a quarter and record-high unemployment.

The centrist party, To Potami, and the extreme right-wing Golden Dawn party were locked in a tight race for third place, according to the polls.

But the polls also indicated that around 10 percent of the nearly 10 million voters remain undecided.

There was no campaigning Saturday, a traditional “day of reflection” ahead of every election.