Greece's Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis arrives for a EU Summit, at the EU headquarters in Brussels, on March 23, 2023. (PHOTO / AFP)

ATHENS – Greece will hold a parliamentary election on May 21, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Tuesday.

The May 21 poll will take place under a newly-introduced system of proportional representation, said Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis

The conservative government's four-year term expires in July.

"The country and its citizens need clear horizons… the national elections will be held at the end of the four-year term, as I had committed from the start," Mitsotakis told a televised cabinet meeting.

ALSO READ: Two trains collide in Greece, at least 36 killed, dozens injured

While opinion polls show Mitsotakis's New Democracy party in the lead over the main opposition, the leftist Syriza party, the gap has narrowed following a rail disaster on Feb 28 that killed 57 people, stirring public anger.

The May 21 poll will take place under a newly-introduced system of proportional representation. That system makes it difficult for a party to gain a clear majority, setting the stage for a second, run-off round that will take place "at the latest by early July", the premier said.