Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou has chosen senior judge Ioannis Sarmas to lead an interim government responsible for organizing a second national election by late June.

The presidency officially announced that President Sakellaropoulou would meet with Ioannis Sarmas to formally appoint him and assign him the tasks of forming a government and arranging the elections.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, following his party’s significant electoral victory, has called for a fresh election to be held as early as June 25. Although his conservative New Democracy party achieved a substantial lead over its closest competitor, Syriza, led by Alexis Tsipras, it fell five seats short of securing a single-party government. This recent election marked the best result for the Greek conservatives since 2007 and was seen as a testament to the party’s efforts in restoring economic stability to a nation that was once considered an EU underperformer.

The appointment of Ioannis Sarmas, aged 66, comes three days after the election results. Mitsotakis informed President Sakellaropoulou on Monday that he was unable to form a coalition, prompting his call for elections to be held on June 25. The upcoming election will be governed by a new electoral law, which allows the winner to receive a bonus of up to 50 seats.

Meanwhile, Alexis Tsipras, whose party Syriza won 71 seats compared to Mitsotakis’s 146, has also declined the opportunity to form a coalition. He has expressed his determination to lead his party in the next electoral battle.