Greek municipal elections 2023: The electoral thrillers, the first place of the KKE and celebrities who failed

The local government elections for the municipalities and regions may have voted in several mayors and regional governors from the very first round, but in some other cases, electoral thrillers took place.

Of particular interest were certain municipalities where celebrities participated, where in some cases they failed to secure their participation in the second round.

Also noteworthy are the firsts in KKE and PASOK municipalities, while in some municipalities, the battle for a second round was even decided by two votes.

In the Municipality of Dafni – Ymittos, Anastasios Binsikos secured a slight lead with 20.65% while Nikolaos Tsilifis followed with 20.14% and only 62 votes difference.

In the municipality of Nikaia – Agios Ioannis Rentis, Konstantinos Maragakis failed to be elected in the first round by a slim margin, as he secured 42.85%. Therefore, he will fight with Panagiotis Katifes in the second round.

An incredible electoral thriller was recorded in the municipality of Penteli. Dimitra Kehagia secured first place with 31.78%, but the battle for second place was decided by just two votes.

In second place was Anastasia Kosmopoulou with 22.80% and 3,322 votes, followed by Dimosthenis Papakonstantinou with 22.78% and 3,320 votes.

A great battle was also fought in the municipality of Papagou – Cholargos, where Ilias Apostolopoulos dominated, collecting 38.49%. Dimitrios Oikonomou followed with 15.31% and 2,836 votes, while Maria Siotou was close behind with 15.21% and 2,816 votes.

Important firsts KKE – PASOK

Among the results, the predominance of Ilias Stamelos (KKE) stands out in the municipality of Kaisarianis, where he secured 35.31% in the first round of the elections.

In the municipality of Pallini, Christos Aidonis from PASOK not only came first but was also elected in the first round with an emphatic 47.17%.

Romas and Patoulis did not make it

Several “bright” names claimed the citizens’ vote for the country’s municipalities, but not all of them succeeded.

In the municipality of Lykovrysi – Pefki, Grigoris Leon collected 31.16% and will fight in the second round with Marios Psychalis who received 27.18%. In third place was Marina Stavraki (Patouli) with the combination United for Lykovrysi – Pefki with 16.25%.

In the municipality of Chalandri, Simeon Roussos was not narrowly unelected from the first round as he collected 42.84%. In second place was Chryssa Agapitou with 25.52%, while the well-known actor Haris Romas garnered 14.91% votes.

The “x-ray” of the elections and the records

It should be noted that in 246 municipalities of the country a mayor was elected from the first round, while in another 86 the local winner will emerge next Sunday.

Five candidates failed to reach the 43% threshold by a few votes, and thus they will have to face off in the second round with their co-candidate who is second in electoral power.

These are the candidates for the mayors of Western Achaia Grigoris Alexopoulos, who received 42.92%, Rhodes Antonis Kambourakis with 42.88%, Nikaia – Agios Ioannis Rentis Konstantinos Maragakis with 42.85%, Chalandriou Simos Rousso with 42.84% and Tyrnavos Athanasios Amari Samer who received a percentage of 42.68%.

In contrast, the new mayor of Corfu and Diapontian Islands, Stefanos Charalambos Peninantarchou Poulimenos, was marginally elected yesterday with 43.17%.

In Attica, the mayor of Glyfada, George Papanikolaou, achieved the highest percentage with a sweeping 83.75%, which is also a personal record as he received 79.01% in the 2019 elections, while he was first elected in 2014 with 62.93%.

The second highest percentage was achieved by the mayor of Phyli Christos Pappos with 80.55%, while in third place was the mayor of Peristeri, Andreas Pachaturidis, who breaks one record after another, becoming perhaps a unique phenomenon in the annals of self-governing.

Yesterday he received 77.98%, as a result of which he was re-elected for a sixth consecutive term and indeed with the largest percentage in his 21-year history as mayor. He was elected mayor of Peristeri for the first time in 2002, narrowly defeating his opponent in the second round.