Over 100,000 Cast Votes in SYRIZA Leadership Runoff; Tensions between Candidates Persist

By 5 p.m., more than 100,000 ballots had been cast in the runoff for the leadership of Greece’s left-wing main opposition party, SYRIZA. The week leading up to the election has been marked by heated tensions between the two candidates, 35-year-old Stefanos Kasselakis (who received 44.91% of the vote in the first round) and 38-year-old Effie Achtsioglou (who received 36.18% of the vote), with disagreements often becoming personal.

Among the three eliminated candidates, Euclid Tsakalotos (who received 8.92% of the vote) and veteran former socialist Stefanos Tzoumakas (who received 1.28% of the vote) have chosen to endorse Achtsioglou, while Nikos Pappas supports Kasselakis.

Outgoing leader Alexis Tsipras, who cast his vote shortly after 5 p.m., stated that regardless of the winner, the party will remain united and offer an alternative to the ruling conservative New Democracy party.

Kasselakis’ candidacy has sparked controversy among traditional party members who criticize his lack of prior involvement with the party until the recent country-wide election, where he ran too far down the list to have a chance of becoming an MP. They accuse him of engaging in a superficial, media-friendly form of “post-politics” to attract voters. On the other hand, some Kasselakis supporters accuse Achtsioglou of undermining Tsipras’ leadership, a charge she vehemently denies.

Electing a youthful leader would not be unprecedented for SYRIZA, as both candidates are older than Tsipras was when he was elected at the age of 34 in 2008.

Despite the significant voter turnout, the fact that there are only two candidates and no new registrations are allowed on the voting day should facilitate counting. Many precincts also have additional tablets to record the votes. Polls close at 8 p.m., but an extension may be granted as it was in the first round. Near-final results are expected around midnight.

Approximately 198,000 eligible voters are expected to participate, and the turnout for the first round was just over 146,000 votes.