(VOVworld) - Voting stations opened on Sunday for Greece's general election with around 10 million eligible voters. After two years of cuts, opinion polls suggest voters are set to punish Greece's two main parties for having agreed to more belt-tightening in return for two international bailouts worth 240 billion euros.

Greek voters begin to cast their ballots on Sunday

Greece has been able to wipe only 1/3 of its debt and is at its fifth consecutive year of economic recession. Statistics show that there is one person unemployed for every five people surveyed while banks are in unstable conditions and retirement pensions and salaries have been cut down 40%. Both Greece's Pasok socialist party and the New Democracy conservatives, the dominant political forces for the past four decades, look likely to lose votes to around 30 smaller parties. Greek President is expected to give the party with the most votes counted 3 days to negotiate with other parties to form a government of alliance in case no party wins absolute majority. If this effort fails, the establishment of a government of alliance will belong to the parties that run second and third in the election. The preliminary results are expected to be announced in the evening the same day and the final results will come on Monday.