Candidates for Athens mayorship to state their claim in TV debate
The two candidates left running for the spot of Athens mayor after the first round of local elections last Sunday will be facing off in a televised debate on Wednesday.
Hosted by state broadcaster ERT, the debate is taking place before Greeks in still-contested municipalities and regions head back to the polls this Sunday for the runoff.
The debate will see the incumbent mayor of Athens, New Democracy’s Kostas Bakoyannis, and Haris Doukas, backed by socialist PASOK, answer a series of questions on hot-button issues posed by a panel of journalists.
In the first round of voting, Bakoyannis clinched 41.35% of the vote, just shy of the 43% threshold for an outright victory, while Doukas came second with a much lower 14.2%. He may see that number rise, however, if he is backed by voters who cast their ballot in favor of the third-placed leftist SYRIZA candidate, Costas Zachariadis, who secured 13.4%.
The debate is scheduled to start at 9.15 p.m.
