Athens  - Greeks began voting Sunday in European Parliament elections which are expected to decide the fate of Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis and his conservative party's political future in the wake of urban rioting and a string of scandals.

Polling stations opened from 7 am to 7 pm (0500-1700 GMT) amid worries that very few voters would make it to the polls.

The recent economic downturn accompanied by street riots, strikes and recent scandals has put the ruling New Democracy Party under severe pressure.

Government officials expressed worries about low voter turnout hurting the conservatives who currently have a one-seat parliamentary majority, and perhaps force an early general election.

A recent case involving Siemens in implications of large-scale corruption, bribery and money laundering over a 1990s state telecoms contract has led to large-scale public outrage.

Other recent scandals include a property swap deal with an Orthodox monastery which allegedly cost taxpayers millions, and revelations that a former merchant marine minister accepted bribes from a shipping company to secure sea routes.

A survey conducted by Public Issue opinion poll on behalf of the Greek daily newspaper Kathimerini found that less than 60 per cent of New Democracy backers said they will cast their ballot, placing the main opposition Socialist PASOK party at an advantage.

Just 48 hours before balloting, PASOK maintained a 3.5 per cent lead over New Democracy and was predicted to garner 32 per cent of the vote to the conservatives' 28.5 per cent.

Other parties vying for the 22 seats in the European Parliament will be the Green Ecologists who saw their support slip from 8 per cent to 6 per cent as the Communist Party overtook them as the third-highest ranked party. (dpa)