Greek PM Tsipras Announces Resignation, Calls Early Elections

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Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has announced his resignation and early election plans for debt ridden Greece.

According to Press TV:

“I will shortly meet with the president of the republic and present my resignation and that of my government,” Tsipras said in a televised address to the nation on Thursday.

Earlier, two government officials told the Wall Street Journal that Tspiras plans to inform Greece’s head of state, President Prokopis Pavlopoulos, later on Thursday that he cannot “continue as premier due to the lack of a stable governing majority in parliament.”

Meanwhile, the ANA news agency quoted unnamed Greece officials as saying that the premier is expected to propose September 20 as the date for the snap elections before handing down his government’s resignation.

Tsipras, elected in January, reportedly plans to call snap elections in an attempt to quell a rebellion in his leftist Syriza party just days after securing the country’s disputed third bailout, according to the state broadcaster.

Greek Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos also said that the elections “will not be the same as those of 2012, because now there is agreement, and there is a framework for the recapitalization of banks.”

Another Greek official, whose name was not released in reports, also noted that the snap polls could be announced in the coming hours, adding, “Everything is possible.”

Greece’s Energy Minister Panos Skourletis further called for the government to return to the ballot box, saying, “The political landscape must clear up. We need to know whether the government has or does not have a majority.”

The Greek left-wing government has seen its support dwindle in parliament after agreeing to reforms, including pension adjustments and tax increase, required to qualify for a third bailout worth of 86 billion euros (94.5 billion dollars).

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