ATHENS, June 2 -- Greek conservatives of main opposition New Democracy (ND) party won the second round of local elections on Sunday, which had turned into a crucial test for all parties ahead of the early national polls which will most likely be held on July 7.
ND backed candidates won 12 out of 13 regions across Greece and the overwhelming majority of the 332 municipalities, according to the official results released by the Interior ministry, with 75 percent and 62 percent of votes counted respectively.
ND had won a strong lead in the first round on May 26 which coincided with the European Parliament elections.
Following the conservatives' victory also in the European battle with 33.1 percent of votes against 24 percent for the ruling Radical Left SYRIZA party, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has decided to proceed to snap national polls.
After the second round of local elections, he will visit Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos to initiate the procedures for early elections, Tsipras said on the night of May 26.
The general elections will most likely be held on July 7, the government said last week.
An opinion survey released on Sunday evening showed that SYRIZA was trailing ND in the battle for the national elections as well.
Should ballots for general elections were held this Sunday, the conservatives would win with 31.5-36.5 percent of votes against 22.5-27.5 percent for SYRIZA, according to a survey conducted by polling firm Pulse for local SKAI television.
The centrist Movement for Change (Kinima Allagis- KINAL) would rank third with 6.5-9.5 percent of votes and the Greek Communist party KKE would follow with 4.5-6.5 percent.
The last two parties passing the three percent of votes threshold required to enter the next parliament would be the far-right Chryssi Avghi (Golden Dawn) and the right-wing nationalistic Elliniki Lysi (Greek Solution), receiving 4-6 percent and 3-5 percent respectively.
The survey was carried out in the period May 30-June 1 on a sample of 1,358 voters.
On Sunday evening Tsipras congratulated all new mayors and regional governors and sent the message that the war is not over.
"In life and politics it is important to know how to win, but also how to lose and stand on your feet to continue fighting," he told media on Syntagma square standing next to SYRIZA's candidates who lost the battles for the Regional Governor of Attica and the municipality of Athens.
ND candidate Giorgos Patoulis defeated outgoing Regional Governor of Attica Rena Dourou by 66 percent against 34 percent, according to the official results. And conservative Kostas Bakoyannis won the battle for the municipality of Athens with 65 percent of votes against 35 percent for SYRIZA's Nassos Iliopoulos.
Both Patoulis and Bakoyannis in line with ND leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis' statement following the results called on all Greeks to unite to work for a better future on local, regional and national level.
"The map was painted in blue again, but this is not the color of our party, but the color of our country," Mitsotakis said on Sunday night.
"We will all move forward together for a city of Athens which unites us," Bakoyannis told the cheering crowd.
Bakoyannis, scion of a political dynasty, is the nephew of Mitsotakis. His late grandfather served as Prime Minister. His mother Dora Bakoyannis has served as Mayor of Athens and Foreign Affairs Minister.
The contests for the post of the mayor of Athens and Regional Governor of Attica are traditionally key races in Greek elections, as half of the country's population lives in Athens and its suburbs.
In the mayoral race in the port of Piraeus, the incumbent Yannis Moralis was re-elected with 58 percent of votes.
Abstention in Sunday's elections reached 60 percent, up from 41 percent on May 26.
端午节自己DIY粽子
日本职员穿花衫 清凉节能
探究情侣分手的三大深层原因
李娜2-0战胜莎拉波娃,历史性闯进法网决赛
德国笑话不可笑 被选为最不幽默国家
请记住!让你受益一生的几句话
幸福人生教给我们的10个启迪
可爱的啤酒罐机器人
吃苹果皮可强健肌肉 竟有减肥功效
用白菜制作的美女
美国空气最清新的城市
快乐人生的8个法则
李娜击败斯齐亚沃尼,赢法网冠军创造历史
荷兰男子自建诺亚方舟 欲2017进伦敦
德国少女Facebook上邀友庆生 引来上千陌生网友
女孩与犀牛成好友
美国专家:皱纹多的中年女性更易骨折
手机与癌症有关:现在要做的12种健康改变
夏天冲凉最舒服 最酷浴室设计
欧洲“毒黄瓜” 肠菌病毒已扩散至12国
如何充实的度过每一天
英国:上班路程越远 挣得越多?
给玛利亚·施莱弗的建议
家庭里醋的14种妙用(下)
台湾全面查处塑化剂饮料 波及产品面积扩大
单亲家庭孩子成绩为何不好
智慧人生:牢记8句话 把握幸福生活
美国最博览群书的城市是什么?马萨诸塞州剑桥市位居榜首
如何在空闲时间使你完全恢复过来
家庭里醋的14种妙用(上)
不限 |
英语教案 |
英语课件 |
英语试题 |
不限 |
不限 |
上册 |
下册 |
不限 |