Greek prime minister resigns
“Now the Greek people need to have their say,” Tsipras is quoted by Bloomberg. “With your vote you will show who can lead Greece on the difficult but promising road ahead of us, and how. With your vote you will judge us all.”
He announced early election calling on people to vote for Syriza party to give the government a chance to continue its policy.
Elected in January on an anti-austerity platform, Tsipras has presided over a revolt in his Syriza party after pushing through the kind of tax increases and spending curbs that he had vociferously opposed while in opposition.
The vote will give Tsipras the chance to shed unhelpful members of his party before Greece faces an October review of progress in meeting the rescue terms and the need for more disbursements of international aid. Under Greek law, if an election is held less than 18 months after the last vote, party leaders determine who’s on electoral lists.
Mr Tsipras said he would seek the Greek people's approval to continue his government's programme, BBC reports.
"The political mandate of the 25 January elections has exhausted its limits and now the Greek people have to have their say," Tsipras was quoted by BBC as saying at his televised address.
"I want to be honest with you. We did not achieve the agreement we expected before the January elections." ----0----