Stefanos Kasselakis elected as new president of leftist SYRIZA party

Political newcomer Stefanos Kasselakis was elected as the new president of leftist SYRIZA party on Sunday evening in the second round of an internal election, which saw a turnout of more than 130,000 party members – many newly registered this month.

Kasselakis, 35, an Ivy League-educated businessman who was once employed as a junior Goldman Sachs trader in Manhattan, received more than 56,000 votes to pool 56.69 percent, with 75 percent of the ballots counted by 11 p.m. local time. Polling stations closed at 9 p.m.

He recently appeared on Greece’s political “radar” after being placed on the state deputies’ ballot by former party leader Alexis Tsipras in the most recent general election – where Syriza was badly beaten by conservative New Democracy (ND).

He beat out former SYRIZA minister Efi Achtsioglou, 38, in the second round of the party leadership election. The latter garnered 43.31 percent of the vote with three-fourths of the ballots counted.

Five candidates stood for party president in last Sunday’s first round.

Syriza, which received 17.83 percent of the general vote in the June 2023 election, is the main opposition in Greece’s 300-MP Parliament, having elected 47 deputies to the legislature.