A leadership election will be held for the leader of Syriza, on 24 November 2024, with a runoff on 1 December if necessary,[1] after Stefanos Kasselakis lost a vote of no-confidence on his presidency on the Central Committee.[2]
MP Pavlos Polakis,[3] MP Sokratis Famellos[4] and MEP Nikolas Farantouris announced their candidacies.
After Alexis Tsipras resigned as the President of Syriza, in June 2023[5] a leadership election was called.
On the first round of the elections, Stefanos Kasselakis and Effie Achtsioglou made it to the second round, with 44.9% and 36.2% of the votes respectively, Euclid Tsakalotos reached the third spot with 8.9%, Nikos Pappas followed with 8.7%, and finally Stefanos Tzoumakas got 1.3%.[6]
On the Second round, Kasselakis won over Achtsioglou, 56% to 44%.[7]
After the election of Stefanos Kasselakis, the criticism and questioning of his political actions by party members and MPs intensified.[8] Soon, the internal opposition groups "Umbrella" and "6+6" left the party,[9][10] founding, some time later, New Left.[11]
In February 2024, the 4th Congress of the party was held. Stefanos Kasselakis announced extraordinary internal party elections for the election of the president,[12] with Olga Gerovassili announcing her candidacy.[13] In the end, the elections did not take place and tensions were averted in view of the upcoming European elections.[14]
In the European elections, Syriza maintained second place, but with a lower percentage (14.92%) and elected four MEPs. This, combined with sudden replacements of party individuals,[15] changes to the party structure [16] and the suspension of the daily edition of I Avgi, exacerbated the discontent within the party.[17][18]
The questioning of Stefanos Kasselakis culminated in the meeting of the Central Committee of Syriza, on 7 September, during which 100 members submitted a motion of no confidence against the party president,[19] which was adopted by 163 votes to 120,[20] removing the president, Stefanos Kasselakis, and triggering a leadership election.
On 11 September, the date of the election was effectively decided in a meeting of the political bureau of the party, with the final decision pending upon the meeting of the central committee. Before the elections, on 1-3 November, an extraordinary congress will take place, where all the candidacies will be presented.[21] On 12 October, the Central Committee of the party decided that Kasselakis cannot be candidate.[22] On 8 November, after the new rejection of his candidacy by party's conference, Kasselakis left Syriza and announced the foundation of a new party.[23] A day later, the party's Extraordinary Congress voted to confirm the candidacies of Polakis, Famellos, Farantouris and Gletsos.[24]
The following candidatures were confirmed by the Central Committee and the party's Extraordinary Congress:
Candidate | Political Experience | Announcement | Refs | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pavlos Polakis (59 years old) |
MP for Chania (2015–today) Other positions: List
Endorsementsː List
|
7 September 2024 | [26] | ||
Sokratis Famellos (58 years old) |
MP for Thessaloniki B (2015–today) Other positions: List
Endorsementsː |
26 September 2024 | [27] | ||
Nikolas Farantouris (48 years old) |
Member of the European Parliament (July 2024) Other positions: List
Endorsements: |
1 October 2024 | [28] | ||
Apostolos Gkletsos (57 years old) |
Former mayor of Stylida (2011-2019) Other positions: List
Endorsementsː |
5 October 2024 | [29] [30] |
Rejected candidates
Candidate | Political Experience | Announcement | Refs | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Stefanos Kasselakis (36 years old) |
Former President of Syriza[a] (September 2023 - September 2024) Other positions: List
Endorsements: List
|
3 October 2024 | [32][33] |