Greece’s main opposition conservative New Democracy (ND) party dominated the local elections on Sunday, following the pace set at last week’s success in the European Parliament elections.
ND secured 12 of the country’s 13 regional seats in the second round, after winning five of the 13 regional district governorships in the first round of local voting which ran alongside the EP elections.
Kostas Bakoyannis, Konstandinos Zervas and Yannis Moralis were elected the new mayors in Athens, Thessaloniki and Piraeus.
In Athens, Bakoyannis won the race to become Athens mayor under the ND banner. He garnered 65.2 per cent of the vote against his SYRIZA-backed opponent Nasos Iliopoulos (34.8 per cent).
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Bakoyannis the son of ND politicians Dora and Pavlos Bakoyannis, grandson of former PM Kostas Mitsotakis and nephew of opposition leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis. His mother had previously served as Athens mayor and was also former Foreign Minister with the ND party. He lost his father in 1989, when he was shot by the 17th November terrorist group.
ND’s Zervas garnered 66.83 per cent of the votes, securing the mayorship of Thessaloniki, as opposed to another ND candidate Nikos Tahiaos, who received 32.8 per cent.
Incumbent independent candidate Yannis Moralis received 57.88 per cent, compared with 42.12 per cent of ND’s Nikolas Vlahakis.
