Greece's Snap Election: Voters Go To The Polls

Voting is under way in a Greek election likely to send shockwaves through Europe and global markets.

Polling suggests the leftist Syriza party is set to sweep to victory on its anti-austerity platform, setting the stage for a clash with European creditors.

Syriza's 40-year-old leader, Alexis Tspiras, is adamant he will renegotiate the repayment terms of Greece's €318bn debt and restore the country's "dignity" by tackling the soaring unemployment and mass wage cuts that followed the country's international bailout.

Opinion polls give Syriza at least a four point lead over the New Democracy party, led by incumbent Prime Minister Antonis Samaras.

But Syriza's refusal to continue meeting the austerity demands placed on Greece by its creditors has sparked fears the country may be unable to repay its debts, which could force the country's exit from the Eurozone.

Mr Samaras has insisted voters would be making a huge mistake to elect Syriza at a time when painful fiscal reforms may be about to pay-off.

"Syriza will turn all of Europe against Greece... They don't understand Europe, they don't believe in Europe," he said.

The Greek government was forced to undertake deep budget cuts and fiscal reforms as a condition for a €240bn euro bailout in 2010 from the so-called "Troika" - the group of creditors made up of the European Union, the International Monetary Fund and European Central Bank.

Many in Greece feel the slashed public spending has hit the vulnerable hardest, while leaving the tax evasion and corruption of the elites untouched.

Alexis Tsipras has said he wants to introduce measures to shrink the size of the government, slashing advisor positions and some ministries, while also forcing the wealthy to pay their share of taxes.

But he is also committed to working with the ECB to renegotiate the terms of the bailout - the deadline for such a move being July, the month at which Greece will no longer be able to pay its debts without a further injection of funds.

So far the ECB and IMF have said the regime of demands around growth targets and deficit reduction, must remain in place, meaning a stand-off with Syriza may become inevitable should it win the election.

However, Syriza's hand will be determined by the final outcome of the vote, due to Greece's system of proportional representation.

If the party can achieve a simple majority of more than 150 of the 300 parliamentary seats, analysts believe it will be able to take a tougher stance in its negotiations.

But much will be determined by how many smaller parties are able to pass the threshold of 3% of the overall vote necessary to take a parliamentary seat.

On the final day of campaigning, Mr Samaras was keen to point out up to 14% of voters remained undecided, suggesting Syriza may in the end be forced to form a coalition government which could constrain its options.