THREE SLATES TO CONTEST ELECTIONS (24 Sept 2006)

As we come up to the deadline for registration, Kythera’s local elections are be contested by three separate slates, of which two could be described as right-of-centre and the third as left-of-centre. The current mayor, Artemis Kalligeros, is running for a third four-year term under the colours of the conservative New Democracy party; however, he faces opposition from within his own party in the person of Theodoros Koukoulis, who was until recently private secretary of a powerful New Democracy member of parliament for Piraeus and is in effect running as a right-of-centre reform candidate (Kythera is part of the large Piraeus A parliamentary constituency).

They will be challenged by a coalition headed by leader of the opposition Yannis Karavousanos (“Toxotis”) and the current deputy mayor, Panayotis Protopsaltis (“Psaltis”). Following Karavousanos’ appeal on local television for all candidates to sacrifice personal ambition and join in a common slate, an agreement was hammered out whereby Protopsaltis became the coalition’s mayoral candidate, with Karavousanos his most likely successor four years down the road. Though closely associated with the socialist party, Pasok, the slate is not running under Pasok colours and includes an number of non-aligned reform candidates.

It remains to be seen whether any of the three candidates can achieve 42% of the vote and outright victory on October 15th, failing which the two leaders go on to a second round one week later. Voters will be able to select two candidates for municipal councillor (the slate leader gets an automatic vote), but are prohibited from voting across slates (i.e., picking candidates from different slates). Full details of the slates and candidates will be available early next week.

John Stathatos