Low voter turnout, mostly wins by ND-back candidates marks first round of local gov’t elections in Greece

Regional governors were elected in eight out of 13 regions in the first round of local government elections in Greece on Sunday, with the two main results being electoral wins for ruling New Democracy (ND)-backed candidates and “rebel” candidates also from within the conservative party, as well as the very low voter turnout.

Indicatively, only 31 percent of eligible voters cast ballots in the race for Athens mayor, in the largest municipality in the country. A second round will be needed, as incumbent Costas Bakoyannis picked up 41.3 percent of the vote, just shy of the threshold needed for a clear win.

Candidates needed to exceed 43 percent of the valid votes cast to avoid a second round.

The new governor of the greater Attica region, ND-backed Nikos Hardalias, picked up 45.76 percent of the vote.

Elsewhere, incumbent Yannis Moralis triumphed in the largest port city of Piraeus, winning his re-election with 69.81 percent of the vote.

Conversely, incumbent Thessaloniki mayor Konstantinos Zervas was first-past-the-poll with 27.69 percent of the vote, edging out contender Stylianos Aggeloudis, which picked up 26.46 percent, meaning a second-round face-off next Sunday.