The conservative party in power in Greece, New Democracy, won the majority of regions at the end of the second round of local elections on Sunday October 15. The right, however, lost Athens and Thessaly, a region hard hit by floods in September, according to the Interior Ministry.
In the Greek capital, the prime minister’s nephew, outgoing mayor Kostas Bakoyannis, lost to the socialist candidate, Haris Doukas. With more than 90% of the ballots counted, the latter obtained around 55% of the votes against nearly 44% for Mr. Bakoyannis.
In Thessaloniki, the country’s second city, the ruling party’s candidate, incumbent mayor Konstantinos Zervas, was also defeated. New Democracy (ND) won a majority in seven of the country’s 13 regions in the first round on October 8, including the largest, Athens and Thessaloniki. The vote was held this Sunday in six regions.
Abstention massive
After the counting of more than 80% of the ballots, ND lost Thessaly, a vital agricultural production region for the country. It was devastated by the torrential rains which fell in September, killing 17 people, destroying cotton and fruit production, and killing hundreds of thousands of livestock.
Incumbent governor Konstantinos Agorastos received more than 40% of the vote against independent candidate Kouretas Dimitrios (around 59%). ND, on the other hand, won in the Peloponnese region. This second round was marked by massive abstention. As of 5:30 p.m., turnout was 31.2 percent compared to 42.6 percent in the first round.
During the June legislative elections, ND clearly won with 40.56% of the votes, around twenty points ahead of its main opponent, the radical left party Syriza. The new government, however, has faced criticism for its alleged mishandling of fires and floods that hit Greece this summer.
