Electoral derby in eight regions
Given that the July 2019 elections were settled with a difference of less than two percentage points between New Democracy and SYRIZA in eight regions of the country, they are set to become fiercely contested battlegrounds in the upcoming elections as well.
Ruling New Democracy won with the narrowest of margins in four of these constituencies. They are the regions of Evia, where it secured a 1.7-percentage point lead over SYRIZA, Ilia, where it was 1.21 points ahead, Ioannina (1.12 points) and Corfu (0.73 points).
The other four went to the leftist opposition party, which won West Attica with a 1.96-point lead over the conservatives, Arta by 0.95 points, and the Cretan constituencies of Rethymno by 0.44 points and Lassithi with only 0.25 points.
The battle in West Attica in particular is set to be hotly contested. This is because SYRIZA, despite the fact that it managed to come first, won only one seat in that region, with New Democracy winning the remaining three.
SYRIZA is seeking to regain the lead, but it aspires to improve its figures. Indicatively, in 2019 the difference between the two parties was just 1,496 votes. That was a big difference from the September 2015 elections, when SYRIZA had dominated with a difference of more than 19 points and won three seats.
Similar battles are expected in the other seven regions. For example New Democracy won Evia with 36.61% electing three deputies versus two seats for SYRIZA with 34.91%. In Ilia, New Democracy won three seats with 36.03%, while SYRIZA elected one MP with 34.82% and center-left PASOK won one seat.
New Democracy won Ioannina with 37.42%, electing four deputies against one deputy for SYRIZA who received 36.30%. In Arta, SYRIZA won with 39.94% and received one seat, as did New Democracy, which got 38.99%.
