SYRIZA has maintained its lead over New Democracy, according to a new poll by Public Issue, which shows that the Greek opposition party retains an 8.5% lead over its conservative rival. SYRIZA is in first place with 35.5%, down from the 36% it held in September. New Democracy gained two percentage points, now ranking second with 27%. To Potami comes third with 10.5%, followed by the Communist Party (KKE) with 6.5%, PASOK with 6%, Golden Dawn with 6%, Independent Greeks with 3% and the Democratic Left with 1%. The percentages of all other parties added up to 4.5%. Greece’s third most-popular party is To Potami with 10.5% (9.5%), followed by the KKE 6.5% (6.5%), PASOK with 6% (5.5%), the Golden Dawn with 6% (7.5%), the Independent Greeks with 3% (4%) and DIMAR with 1% (1%). All other parties added up to 4.5% (5%). Based on these numbers, the distribution of seats in the Greek Parliament runs as follows: 144 for SYRIZA, 71 for New Democracy, 28 for To Potami, 17 for KKE, 16 for Golden Dawn, 16 for PASOK and 8 for Independent Greeks. The projection of victory poll shows SYRIZA in the lead with 66%, followed by New Democracy with 22%. When asked who is best suited to be prime minister of Greece, 41% of respondents vouched for Antonis Samaras, 30% for Alexis Tsipras and 30% for “neither.” Meanwhile, 55% of respondents believe that early elections are not necessary; 43% of respondents believe they are probably necessary. Three percent did not have an opinion on the matter. Meanwhile, a similar poll conducted by Alco shows SYRIZA with just a 4.4% lead over New Democracy. Alco shows Golden Dawn in third place and To Potami in fourth with 4.5% of the votes, followed by KKE with 4.3%, PASOK with 4% and Independent Greeks with 2.9%.