Greece's opposition New Democracy conservatives look poised to win today's general elections by a large margin, according to first exit polls.
The exit polls gave New Democracy led by Costas Karamanlis a lead of around five percentage points over the incumbent Pan-Hellenic Socialist Movemement (PASOK).
Amid cold but fine weather, thousands of Greece's 10 million voters caught ferries and buses back to birthplace islands and mountain villages to cast ballots that could end 11 years of socialist government.
They included many of the 1.5 million overseas Greeks eligible to vote, who have returned for an election regarded as the most significant since military rule ended in 1974.
The new prime minister will be racing against two key deadlines in just his first five months.
Decisions are needed on reuniting Greek and Turkish Cypriots before the island joins the European Union in May and on how to speed up preparations for the August 13-29 Games.