Record number of parties in Athens’ next municipal council

In Greece’s local and regional elections which were carried out along with the EU vote, candidate Costas Bakoyannis, affiliated with main opposition New Democracy, led the mayoral race in Athens by a wide margin from the next candidate, Nasos Iliopoulos, affiliated with ruling SYRIZA.

With 85.48 percent of all voting centres for local government counted on Monday morning, Bakoyannis received 42.67 pct of the votes (21 seats on the municipal council), followed by Iliopoulos with 16.97 pct (8 seats). Mοvement for Change (KINAL) affiliated candidate and former PASOK minister Pavlos Geroulanos got 13.17 pct (6 seats), and neo-Nazi Golden Dawn's deputy Ilias Kasidiaris came fourth with 10.56 pct and 5 seats.

The Communist Party’s Nikos Sofianos, had 7.46 pct and four seats. Another five candidates received under two percent and will have one seat each in the next municipal council..

However, whoever is elected mayor will not have an outright majority in the municipal council – whose next term which starts on September 1 – due to the system of proportional representation which came into effect in these elections.

Therefore, a total of 10 parties will be represented in Athens, a record number since the restoration of democracy in the country in 1974.