Partial official results from Greece's crucial local polls show the Prime Minister George Papandreou's Socialists are leading in key regional races, making it less likely he will call an early general election in the debt-ridden country.

With 11 percent of vote counted, Papandreou's Socialists were ahead in seven of 13 races for regional governor, including the critical greater Athens area, Greece's largest administrative region.

Papandreou had vowed to call snap elections unless his party won clear backing in Sunday's local vote, saying his government needed public support for the stringent austerity measures he is implementing to bring the country out of a severe financial crisis. However, he has not set a clear threshold for what results he would consider satisfactory.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

ATHENS, Greece (AP) _ Greeks voted Sunday in local polls that Prime Minister George Papandreou vowed could trigger a general election unless voters showed support for austerity measures designed to pull the country out of its debt crisis.

Papandreou's 13-month-old government instituted the fiscal reforms so his debt-strapped nation could receive euro110 billion ($140 billion) in bailout loans from the International Monetary Fund and the European Union, staving off bankruptcy.

No exit polls were carried out in Sunday's vote, but opinion polls conducted earlier on voter intentions projected a surprise lead by the governing Socialist party's candidate in the critical greater Athens area _ Greece's largest administrative region.

Papandreou had warned he would call a snap general election unless his governing Socialists won clear backing in Sunday's vote for 13 regional governors and 325 mayors. He have said he needs the public's support for the austerity package which has cut salaries, frozen pensions and hiked taxes. But he has not said clearly what results he would consider satisfactory, leaving himself some room to maneuver.

Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou said on private Mega TV that Papandreou was likely to announce his decision to the nation later Sunday.

"I think we have made totally clear that the political message will come out tonight," he said.

The early election threat spooked bond markets concerned about Greece's ability to cope with the massive debts that triggered a financial crisis and affected the 16-nation euro currency. The uncertainty sent borrowing costs sharply higher, with the interest-rate gap between Greek 10-year bonds and Germany's benchmark equivalent exceeding 9 percentage points on Friday.

Opposition parties have accused Papandreou of using blackmail to force Greeks to vote in local elections, which usually see lower turnout than national polls. Some 9.8 million people are eligible to vote.

"I am not bluffing, but nor, of course, is going to (national) elections my first choice," Papandreou retorted in the weekend edition of Ta Nea newspaper. "My only criteria is the interest of the country and of Greeks."

He insisted that the gains Greece has made in reforming its economy could be under threat.

"I have a duty to note that danger," he said. "We are winning battles but we have not yet won the war."

Ahead of the vote, the Socialists appeared unlikely to suffer a heavy defeat, with opinion polls predicting a roughly even split with main opposition conservatives in the regional governor races.

Papandreou came to power in October 2009 with a landslide victory over the conservatives, and his party enjoys a comfortable majority in Parliament. But his popularity has taken a beating following stringent austerity measures, including freezing pensions and trimming public sector salaries.

Opposition parties have all campaigned against the terms of the bailout loans, adding pressure on Papandreou, who has faced months of disruptive strikes and protests as a deepening recession caused a surge in unemployment and small business failures.

Conservative leader Antonis Samaras has urged the government to "change course" and replace austerity with a policy of state investment to stimulate the economy.

Political analyst and publisher Giorgos Kyrtsos said Sunday's ballot was a litmus test of the government's power in continuing to implement harsh measures.

"We are measuring the government's strength ... to see whether it can continue the implementation of an exceptionally difficult economic and social policy," Kyrtsos said.

____

Derek Gatopoulos and Nathalie Rendevski-Savaricas in Athens contributed to this report.