Meimarakis offers to step down as ND leader, pending vote
New Democracy leader Evangelos Meimarakis has announced his intention to resign as party president ahead of a fresh attempt to hold a leadership vote.
Meimarakis suggested that former ministers Marietta Giannakou, Dimitris Sioufas or Ioannis Varvitsiotis would be suitable interim presidents until the ballot is held.
Meimarakis asked all the other candidates to also leave their positions following a software failure that prevented the leadership ballot being held on Sunday.
New Democracy’s parliamentary spokesman Adonis Georgiadis, the second of four candidates standing for the leadership, immediately tweeted that he would stand down from this post. A third candidate, MP Kyriakos Mitsotakis, also said he would leave his position as the party's other parliamentary spokesman.
However, Meimarakis also called for Central Macedonia Governor Apostolos Tzitzicostas to leave his position at the local authority. Sources close to the regional chief suggested that Meimarakis was trying to deflect attention.
Meimarakis also appeared to implicate former party leader Antonis Samaras in the party’s failure to carry out the election. Meimarakis said that Samaras had personally vouched for the IT firm that was chosen to organize the vote.
The party’s electoral committee was due to meet at 1 p.m. to decide when the leadership vote could be held. Kathimerini understands December 6 or 13 are the likeliest dates.
