First Greek election since bailout controls

Yiannis, 6, puts his mother’s vote in the ballot box. Pic/AP

Greeks were voting on Sunday in the first election since their country's economy ceased to be subject to strict supervision and control by international lenders who had provided bailout funds during its nearly decade-long financial crisis.

The vote pitches conservative Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, 55, a Harvard-educated former banking executive, against 48-year-old Alexis Tsipras, who heads the left-wing Syriza party and served as prime minister during some of the financial crisis' most turbulent years, as the two main contenders. The rising cost of living was at the forefront of many voters' minds as they headed to polling centers set up in schools across the country.

"Every year, instead of improving, things are getting worse," said Athens resident Dimitris Hondrogiannis, 54, "Things are expensive. Every day, things are getting out of control. It's enough to make you afraid to go to the supermarket to shop. We'll see how things go."

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