Late night Sunday May 25, 2014,  SYRIZA President, Alexis Tsipras made the following statements about the election results:

Today is a historic day for our people.  Their verdict is brave and clear.

Despite the unprecedented use of fear tactics, they decisively rejected the Samaras government and its Memorandum policies.

And for the first time in the history of this country, the Left came first in the number of votes, with a significant difference.  For the first time, based on official estimates, there has been a major upset in Greece’s largest administrative region. For the first time, the status quo has been overturned in a number of significant municipalities throughout Greece.

Tomorrow, all of Europe will be talking about SYRIZA. Even today, the peoples of Europe are already celebrating the defeat of the Memorandums and austerity in Greece, the country selected by European leaders as the guinea pig in dealing with the crisis.

We all know that this result is, above all, a victory for our people, because broader forces rallied together beside us in order to overthrow the unpopular, barbaric policy of the Memorandums.

We greet this major step taken by a significant number of citizens, who ignored the attempts to terrorize them, the interventions, and the last-minute extortion efforts both in Greece and abroad.

The fact that SYRIZA came first, with this significant difference, constitutes a decisive victory for our people, on the road to their emancipation, and in the on-going struggle for rule by the people, for justice and dignity.

Our people have given us the mandate to proceed rapidly.  To respond to the demand of the times and to form a broad, democratic, progressive and patriotic alliance that will not only win the forthcoming parliamentary elections, but will constitute the new, large and absolute majority. The large majority that will take on the historic task of the social salvation and reconstruction of our homeland.

Today’s result has dissolved any remaining shred of legitimacy that this government and its policy may have had.

However much Mr Samaras pretends he hasn’t got the message. His New Democracy party came in with 7 percentage points less than it received in June 2012, and PASOK which, because of its name change, says the figures are not comparable, has lost 5 points.  If today’s elections were national parliamentary elections, SYRIZA would have 130 seats and New Democracy 69.

With what moral and political legality will Mr Samaras, after receiving such percentages, be in a position to negotiate the issue of our national debt?

With what moral and political legality will he impose tough, new measures?

With what moral and political legality will he impose a new Memorandum, one that has already been agreed on, but has been carefully hidden until after the European elections?

Respect for democracy must oblige the government to seek a mandate from the people as soon as possible. so that political normality can be restored.

This is the message of the ballot box. This is the message that every Greek citizen has understood.