Next weekend, Stefanos Kasselakis and Efi Achtsioglou will compete in a run off for the leadership of the main opposition SYRIZA party, known for its left-wing stance.
Kasselakis leads with 45.47%, followed by Achtsioglou (36.21%), Nikos Pappas (8.64%), Euclid Tsakalotos (8.40%) and Stefanos Tzoumakas (1.28%).
35-year-old, Kasselakis, was virtually unknown until recently. The former CEO of a shipping company was an unconventional choice for candidacy having no prior political activity. He is also the first openly gay candidate to seek the leadership of a party and has been in a civil partnership with his partner since 2019.
The chairman of the SYRIZA-Progressive Alliance party’s Central Electoral Committee, Yiannis Drosos, thanked and congratulated each of the five candidates and announced that the Electoral Committee has declared a second round of elections next Sunday between the two front runners, Achtsioglou and Kasselakis.
The high participation was “the voice of a society where the dismantling of every public institution, care and service has become a personal and family problem for many, if not all Greeks,” Mr Drosos said.
146,635 members of SYRIZA participated in the election for a new leader.
The results of the elections to elect a new leader for the main opposition party were as follows:
Stefanos Kasselakis received 45.47% and 51,615 votes
Effie Achtsioglou received 36.21% and 41,098 votes
Nikos Pappas received 8.64% and 9,804 votes
Stefanos Tzoumakas received 1.28% and 1,457 votes
Euclid Tsakalotos received 8.4% and 9,533 votes
