Exit polls show Greece's two main austerity parties have suffered major losses in parliamentary elections.

The surveys, reported minutes after polls closed Sunday, indicated the conservative New Democracy party — the leading vote-getter — carrying 17 to 20 percent of the vote, down from 33.5 percent in 2009 polls. The samplings showed the left-wing PASOK party carrying between 14 and 17 percent.

Both parties, which joined forces in 2009, have said they will press the European Union, the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank to ease austerity requirements imposed on Athens' debt-ridden government in return for more than $300 billion in two bailouts. But many Greeks accuse the ND-PASOK coalition of fueling the crisis with corrupt practices and widespread mismanagement.

More than 10 smaller parties were forecast to gain seats, running on platforms opposing the austerity measures. The communist KKE party wants to leave the eurozone altogether.

The far-right anti-immigration Golden Dawn party was also poised to enter parliament for the first time in decades, with between six and eight percent of the vote — well above the necessary three percent threshold.

Athens has imposed tax hikes and sharp spending cuts, including salary and pension rollbacks, in the past two years, sparking waves of public-sector protests that have regularly paralyzed the capital and caused widespread property damage.