ATHENS (AFX) - Greek voters cast their ballots on Sunday for local and regional elections seen as a litmus test for the embattled government of Costas Karamanlis, with exit polls showing the conservatives holding onto the country's two main cities but losing the port of Piraeus.
The ruling New Democracy party scored well in Athens and Salonika in the first round, with the race in the Greek capital seemingly over in favour of conservative candidate Nikitas Kaklamanis.
But the Pasok opposition party also had reason to celebrate, after appearing to wrest the port of Piraeus from the conservatives after eight years.
Interior ministry data and exit polls broadcast by Greece's main television stations at the close of the ballots at 7:00 pm (1600 GMT) showed Kaklamanis soundly beating his socialist opponent Costas Skandalidis in Athens, garnering well above the 42-percent minimum required for a first-round victory.
In Salonika, Greece's second largest city, incumbent conservative mayor Vassilis Papageorgopoulos was placed ahead of socialist challenger Chryssa Arapoglou with a lead of around 20 points, but it was unclear whether he would make enough gains to secure election from the first round.
And in the local prefecture of Salonika, maverick prefect Panayiotis Psomiadis appeared a clear winner against former athlete Voula Patoulidou, a gold medalist in the 100m hurdles of the Barcelona 1992 Olympics.
In Piraeus, polls showed Pasok candidate Panayiotis Fassoulas, a former basketball star, leading mayor Christos Agrapidis by up to 15 points and likely to secure first-round election.
And the socialists also held their own in the Athens-Piraeus prefecture, with prefect Fotini 'Fofi' Gennimata set to finish comfortably ahead of conservative challenger Argyris Dinopoulos, a former journalist.
Although local concerns play a key role in the vote, the New Democracy-run national government is keenly watching the outcome as it faces a wave of discontent over education policies and a failure to stamp out corruption.
The ruling party seeks to defend a total of 30 out of 54 prefectures won in 2002.
For their part, the opposition socialists are looking to make a comeback after winning 22 prefectures, a poor showing which was followed by their fall from power two years later.
Wherever necessary, a second round to decide the remainder of mayoral and prefectural posts will be held on Oct 22. newsdesk@afxnews.com afp/hjp COPYRIGHT Copyright AFX News Limited 2006. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of AFX News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of AFX News. AFX News and AFX Financial News Logo are registered trademarks of AFX News Limited