Local elections were held in Greece on 18 May 2014 (first round) and 25 May 2014 (second round). Voters elected representatives to the country's local authorities, comprising 13 regions and 325 municipalities.

Background Traditionally, candidates at local elections do not run under the official name of any party as the constitution only foresees the participation of electoral lists (or "combinations") and not parties. Despite this theoretical independence and distinction, for all practical purposes most candidates run as local front organisations for political parties."Making sense of the ballot ", Athens News, 5 November 2010, p. 8.

Issues Greece is still facing a long-term government-debt crisis, which may affect the elections.

Election results

Source: Hellenic Ministry of the Interior

In the municipalities, as well as the regions, any candidate can participate in the first round. If the leading candidate does not have an absolute majority (50%+) of the votes, then a second round is held between the two leading candidates in the first round.

Regions

Attica Contender Rena Dourou (SYRIZA) defeated incumbent Ioannis Sgouros (Society of Values) in the second round and succeeded him as Regional Governor of Attica.

Candidate Supporting Parties 1st Round 2nd Round Total seats Votes % Seats Votes % Seats Rena Dourou SYRIZA 386,833 23.80 12 794,231 50.82 49 61 359,302 22.11 11 768,604 49.18 1 12 Georgios Koumoutsakos Nea Dimokratia 228,913 14.08 7 7 Ilias Panagiotaros Golden Dawn 180,908 11.13 6 6 Thanasis Pafilis KKE 173,325 10.66 5 5 Pavlos Chaikalis ANEL 116,464 7.17 4 4 Recreate Greece – Drasi 48,242 2.97 2 2 Antonios Gakis Ecologist Greens 36,449 2.24 1 1 Despina Koutsoumba ANTARSYA 33,895 2.09 1 1 Petros Mantoumbalos EPAL 32,475 2.00 1 1 Maria Giannakaki DIMAR – Greens – Europe-Ecology 28,601 1.76 1 1

Central Greece Kostas Bakoyannis (ND) defeated Evangelos Apostolou (SYRIZA) in the second round and succeeded Klearchos Pergantas (PASOK) as Regional Governor of Central Greece.

Candidate Supporting Parties 1st Round 2nd Round Total seats Votes % Seats Votes % Seats Kostas Bakoyannis Nea Dimokratia 136,688 41.35 11 161,286 56.06 20 31 Evangelos Apostolou SYRIZA 61,961 18.75 5 126,428 43.94 5 10 Athanasios Giannopoulos EPAL 47,609 14.40 4 4 Apostolos Gletsos Golden Dawn 29,867 9.04 2 2 KKE 29,191 8.83 2 2 Konstantinos Chainas DIMAR 14,115 4.27 1 1 Vassilis Zoumbos ANTARSYA 11,093 3.36 1 1

Central Macedonia

Incumbent Apostolos Tzitzikostas (ANEL/EPAL/LAOS) defeated contender Giannis Ioannidis (ND) in the second round and remained Regional Governor of Central Macedonia.

Candidate Supporting Parties 1st Round 2nd Round Total seats Votes % Seats Votes % Seats Apostolos Tzitzikostas ANEL – EPAL – LAOS 322,829 32.81 562.964 71.01 43 Giannis Ioannidis Nea Dimokratia 182,912 18.59 229,838 28.99 11 SYRIZA 115,484 11.74 4 4 Nikos Chrysomallis Golden Dawn 85,960 8.74 3 3 DIMAR 84,089 8.55 3 3 Giannis Ziogas KKE 78,330 7.96 3 3 Niobi Pavlidou Elia – Drasi – 58,059 5.90 2 2 Michalis Tremopoulos Ecologist Greens – Greens 30,419 3.09 1 1 Thanassis Agapitos ANTARSYA 25,842 2.63 1 1

Crete

Incumbent Stavros Arnaoutakis (Drasi) defeated contender Serafim Tsokas (ND) in the second round and remained Regional Governor of Crete.

Candidate Supporting Parties 1st Round 2nd Round Total seats Votes % Seats Votes % Seats Stavros Arnaoutakis Drasi 143,461 41.13 184,154 64.01 31 Serafim Tsokas Nea Dimokratia 91,411 26.21 103,547 35.99 11 SYRIZA 65,000 18.64 5 5 Stelios Orfanos KKE 19,912 5.71 1 1 Golden Dawn 11,585 3.32 1 1 Antonis Anipsitakis DIMAR – Ecologist Greens 9,234 2.65 1 1 Giannis Kyriakakis ANTARSYA 8,198 2.35 1 1

Eastern Macedonia and Thrace

Giorgos Pavlidis (ND), the former prefect of Xanthi, defeated incumbent Aris Giannakidis (ind.) in the second round and succeeded him as Regional Governor of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace.

Candidate Supporting Parties 1st Round 2nd Round Total seats Votes % Seats Votes % Seats Giorgos Pavlidis Nea Dimokratia 122,086 34.73 168,852 56.34 31 – 96,959 27.58 130,845 43.66 10 Konstantinos Morfidis SYRIZA 40,105 11.41 3 3 Terence Quick ANEL 28,728 8.17 2 2 Christos Kitsopoulos Golden Dawn 20,942 5.96 2 2 Christos Trellis KKE 18,859 5.36 1 1 Vasileos Traiforos DIMAR 10,158 2.89 1 1 Katerina Gerostergiou Ecologist Greens – Greens 8,322 2.37 1 1 Giorgos Botsidis ANTARSYA 5,387 1.53 0 0

Epirus

Incumbent Alexandros Kachrimanis (ND) defeated contender Olga Gerovasili (SYRIZA) in the first round and remained Regional Governor of Epirus.

Candidate Supporting Parties Votes % Seats Nea Dimokratia 110,746 50.83 31 Olga Gerovasili SYRIZA 53,543 24.58 10 Giorgos Zapsas DIMAR 21,037 9.66 4 Olga Tsoumani KKE 17,549 8.05 3 Konstantinos Anagnostou Golden Dawn 8,591 3.94 2 Nikos Zikos ANTARSYA 6,400 2.94 1

Ionian Islands

Contender Theodoros Galiatsatos (SYRIZA), defeated incumbent (ND) in the second round and succeeded him as Regional Governor of the Ionian Islands.

Candidate Supporting Parties 1st Round 2nd Round Total seats Votes % Seats Votes % Seats Theodoros Galiatsatos SYRIZA 63,506 59.93 24 Nea Dimokratia 26,147 21.76 42,469 40.07 5 Angela Gerekou Drasi 17,419 14.49 3 3 Giorgos Kaloudis Ecologist Greens 14,428 12.01 3 3 Theodoros Goulis KKE 13,750 11.44 2 2 Alekos Desyllas – 6,216 5.17 1 1 Nikos Lemontzis Golden Dawn 6,192 5.15 1 1 Christos Anthis – 5,483 4.56 1 1 Tassos Salvanos DIMAR 3,192 2.66 1 1 Evanthia Gaitanidou ANTARSYA 2,661 2.21 0 0

North Aegean

Contender Christiana Kalogirou (ND) defeated incumbent (ind.) in the second round and succeeded him as Regional Governor of the North Aegean.

Candidate Supporting Parties 1st Round 2nd Round Total seats Votes % Seats Votes % Seats Christiana Kalogirou Nea Dimokratia 33,410 31.51 46,357 53.01 25 – 27,446 25.88 41,095 46.99 6 SYRIZA 20,538 19.37 4 4 Stratis Korakas KKE 15,565 14.68 3 3 Giannis Spilanis DIMAR – Drasi 3,673 3.46 1 1 Vassilis Ballas Ecologist Greens 2,878 2.71 1 1 Andreas Ballas ANTARSYA 2,525 2.38 1 1

Peloponnese

Incumbent Petros Tatoulis (ND) defeated contender Odysseas Voudouris (SYRIZA) in the second round and remained Regional Governor of Peloponnese. Candidate Supporting Parties 1st Round 2nd Round Total seats Votes % Seats Votes % Seats Petros Tatoulis Nea Dimokratia 157,672 43.17 182.456 59.35 31 Odysseas Voudouris SYRIZA 57,417 15.72 124.953 40.65 9 Giorgos Dedes DIMAR – 56,181 15.38 4 4 Dimitris Doltsiniadis Golden Dawn 32,894 9.01 2 2 Nikos Gontikos KKE 23,696 6.49 2 2 Giannis Manolis EPAL 18,797 5.15 1 1 Panayotis Katsaris ANTARSYA 10,653 2.92 1 1 Dimitra Lymberopoulou Ecologist Greens 7,946 2.18 1 1

South Aegean

Contender Giorgos Hatzimarkos (ND) defeated incumbent (ind.) in the second round and succeeded him as Regional Governor of the South Aegean.

Candidate Supporting Parties 1st Round 2nd Round Total seats Votes % Seats Votes % Seats Giorgos Hatzimarkos Nea Dimokratia 61,168 35.71 83,317 56.86 31 – 55,269 32.27 63,216 43.14 11 Benetos Spyrou SYRIZA – Ecologist Greens 31,483 18.38 5 5 KKE 13,561 7.92 2 2 Savvas Spyridis Golden Dawn 9,813 5.73 2 2

Thessaly

Incumbent Konstantinos Agorastos (ND) defeated contender Nikos Tsilimingas (DIMAR) in the second round and remained Regional Governor of Thessaly.

Candidate Supporting Parties 1st Round 2nd Round Total seats Votes % Seats Votes % Seats Konstantinos Agorastos Nea Dimokratia 189,591 42.90 208,170 54.50 31 Nikos Tsilimingas DIMAR 76,434 17.30 173,814 45.50 9 SYRIZA 58,762 13.30 3 3 Vangelis Boutas KKE 46,075 10.43 3 3 Panagiotis Iliopoulos Golden Dawn 30,552 6.91 2 2 Marina Chrysoveloni ANEL 20,456 4.63 1 1 Nikos Poutsiakas Ecologist Greens – Greens 10,166 2.30 1 1 Stathis Douros ANTARSYA 9,870 2.23 1 1

Western Greece

Incumbent Apostolos Katsifaras (ind.) defeated contender Andreas Katsaniotis (Nea Dimokratia) in the second round and remained Regional Governor of Western Greece.

Candidate Supporting Parties 1st Round 2nd Round Total seats Votes % Seats Votes % Seats Apostolos Katsifaras – 92,462 23.06 153,028 50.50 31 Andreas Katsaniotis Nea Dimokratia 79,610 19.85 149,984 49.50 5 SYRIZA 67,406 16.81 4 4 DIMAR 50,862 12.68 3 3 Nikos Karathanasopoulos KKE 35,284 8.80 2 2 Christos Rigas Golden Dawn 31,338 7.82 2 2 – 13,069 3.26 1 1 Panayotis Laliotis ANEL 11,794 2.94 1 1 Giorgos Kanellis Ecologist Greens 10,957 2.73 1 1 Dimitris Desyllas ANTARSYA 8,187 2.04 1 1

Western Macedonia

Contender Theodoros Karypidis (ind.), defeated incumbent (ND) in the second round and succeeded him as Regional Governor of Western Macedonia.

Candidate Supporting Parties 1st Round 2nd Round Total seats Votes % Seats Votes % Seats Theodoros Karypidis – 101,566 59.01 25 Nea Dimokratia 67,859 35.61 70,545 40.99 9 Themis Moumoulidis SYRIZA 21,054 11.05 2 2 Georgia Zembiliadou DIMAR 20,573 10.80 2 2 Giannis Vittas KKE 13,134 6.89 2 2 Nikolaos Kourkoutas Golden Dawn 8,982 4.71 1 1 Stefanos Prassos ANTARSYA 3,443 1.81 0 0

Major municipalities

Athens Candidate Supporting Party 1st Round % 2nd Round % Total seats Giorgos Kaminis Olive Tree- Democratic Left– - Greens- Europe-Ecology 46,976 21.06 110,987 51.42 29 Gabriel Sakellaridis Coalition of Radical Left 44,620 20.00 104,876 48.58 5 Aris Spiliotopoulos New Democracy 37,746 16.92 4 Ilias Kasidiaris Golden Dawn 35,949 16.12 4 Nikos Sofianos Communist Party of Greece 16,529 7.41 2 Nikitas Kaklamanis EPAL 15,834 7.10 2 Vassilis Kapernaros Independent Greeks 7,937 3.56 1 Nikos Avramidis Independent-Panathinaikos Movement 6,489 2.91 1 Petros Konstantinou ANTARSYA 4,398 1.97 1 Ioanna Kondouli Ecologist Greens 3,024 1.36 0 Marios Strofalis Independent 2,097 0.94 0 Stavros Vidalis Independent 1,474 0.66 0

Thessaloniki Candidate Supporting Party 1st Round % 2nd Round % Total seats Yiannis Boutaris Olive Tree - Drassi - Europe-Ecology 47,628 36.04 70,126 58.11 29 Stavros Kalafatis New Democracy 34,564 26.16 50,542 41.89 10 Triantafyllos Mitafidis Coalition of Radical Left 13,968 10.57 3 Artemis Mattheopoulos Golden Dawn 10,195 7.71 2 Ioannis Delis Communist Party of Greece 8,233 6.23 2 Makis Stergiou 4,168 3.15 1 Eleanna Ioannidou Ecologist Greens - Greens 4,131 3.13 1 George Rakkas 2,869 2.17 1 Giannis Koutras ANTARSYA 2,804 2.12 0 Giannis Kouriannidis National Unity Association - National Front 1,918 1.45 0 Dimitris Papamichael Pirate Party of Greece 1,672 1.27 0

Nationwide percentage results

Party Nationwideresults Change from 2010 local elections Change from 2012 legislative elections 26.3 17.7 (Olive Tree)16.2 8.8 8.1 3.8 3.2ANTARSYA2.3 2.1All others11.1

Reaction

The elections were regarded as a victory for SYRIZA, which was not expected to perform well due to its weak local organization. Candidates backed by the ruling New Democracy fared poorly, particularly Prime Minister Antonis Samaras' hand-picked candidates. In Athens, New Democracy failed to make the runoff for the first time since 1975.

In response the results, PM Samaras said "Greece must show it has the stability that it deserves" in the second round and European election scheduled to take place next week. Opposition leader Alexis Tsipras said it was a "historic day", and that next Sunday would be "the first day of a new era."

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