PASOK leadership to be decided in runoff
Current leader Nikos Androulakis and Athens mayor Haris Doukas will compete for the leadership of the socialist PASOK party next Sunday.
In a close first round contest Sunday, Androulakis came out on top with 29.64% of the votes, with Doukas edging MP and former minister Pavlos Yeroulanos, 21.41% to 21.12%, for second place.
Anna Diamantopoulou, a former minister and European Commissioner, who had largely stayed away from the party since 2012, finished fourth with 19.52% of the vote.
MPs Michalis Katrinis and Nadia Giannakopoulou trailed far behind with 6.03% and 2.29%, respectively.
Most candidates expressed their desire for unity late Sunday. Androulakis expressed confidence that PASOK will emerge even more united and stronger after the runoff. Doukas said the result showed that 70% of the voters wanted a change in leadership. Yeroulanos declined to endorse either of the top two candidates, saying his supporters needed no direction from him.
Turnout, at nearly 302,000, was higher than in the last election in December 2021. Then, 270,706 had voted in the first round, on December 5, and 207,658 in the runoff, a week later. Androulakis had won with 68 percent of the vote over former party leader and prime minister George Papandreou.
