ATHENS - ?Greece was due to name a new coalition government within hours, as outgoing Prime Minister George Papandreou and main opposition party leader Antonis Samaras were finalizing an agreement after marathon negotiations since Sunday, a government spokesman said Wednesday.

In statements to national broadcaster NET Angelos Tolkas, deputy government spokesperson said the announcement regarding a new prime minister and cabinet members was expected in the afternoon, following Papandreou's visit to President Karolos Papoulias to formally tender his resignation.

According to the latest unconfirmed reports in local media, amongst front-runners for the office was former Vice President of the European Central Bank Lucas Papademos and current European Court of Justice President Vassilis Skouris.

According to local media, other candidacies included Speaker of the Parliament Filippos Petsalnikos, former Speaker of Parliament Apostolos Kaklamanis, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos.

The new government's top priority would be the parliamentary ratification and implementation of the EU bailout package for Greece in coming weeks to stave off a default that would have major repercussions across the eurozone. Snap national elections were expected to be held in February.