2023 Athens municipal election

Previous Election

In the previous election incumbent PASOK list, with its former candidate not running, was defeated by challenger Bakoyannis winning 21 out of the 49 seats, with Syriza candidate Nasos Iliopoulos coming second being defeated in the second round with ND candidate being ahead with an over 40 point margin, yet this being with the previous electoral law Bakoyannis failed to achieve a full majority in the council. Other smaller candidates also picked up seats, such as Pavlos Geroulanos of PASOK, managing to elect eight seats, Golden Dawn candidate and former spokesman Ilias Kasidiaris electing five, and communist KKE candidate Nikos Sofianos electing four, other more minor lists took up one or fewer seats each.^[5]

Source:^[6]

2021 electoral system

The New Democracy government enacted "Law 4804/2021,"^[7][8] which replaced the previous law on local elections. According to the new law, in all municipal elections in Greece, the system used is one of 2-round proportional representation with reinforced proportinality. Specifically, "the distribution of municipal or regional council seats between the successful and runner-up list is done by a system of reinforced proportionality so that the successful combination holds at least 3/5 of the council seats."^[7] Also, it also provided the requirements for a list to enter the council, "[...] in order for a list to be entitled to at least one seat on the municipal or district council, it must receive at least 3% of the valid ballots in the first round of elections. The combination that received at least 43% of the valid ballots plus one vote in the first round is declared successful, and its head is elected mayor or regional governor."^[7][9] The law faced backlash with parties on the threshold, including the parties conjoined in Antarsya (New Left Current (NAR), Socialist Workers' Party, Revolutionary Communist Movement of Greece (EKKE), Alternative Ecologists) calling the law undemocratic and that ND was attempting to reinforce their own position by removing simple proportionality.^[10]

Athens NOW (Athina TORA)

Athens NOW (Greek: Αθήνα ΤΩΡΑ, romanized: Athina TORA) was a municipal list formed in August 2023 based on an environmentalist, anti-tourist ideology with its candidate being PASOK member Haris Doukas. Specifically, Doukas' 5-year goals were to plant 25,000 trees throughout Athens, reduce the temperature in the summer months, reduce noise pollution, and improve the air quality of Athens by 25%.^[11] The Athens NOW list surpassed Syriza's candidate and entered the second round, whereby securing the support of Syriza, as well as the support from PASOK, Volt Greece, Pirate Party, and other small Green parties.^[11][12][3] Doukas, with unified support, defeated incumbent ND affiliate Kostas Bakoyannis and elected 26 councilors.^[13][2][14]

Athens High Up (Athina Psila)

Athens High Up (Greek: Αθήνα Ψηλά, romanized: Athina Psila) was the incumbent list endorsed by the governing party New Democracy with its candidate being incumbent mayor Kostas Bakoyannis.^[15] The list of Athens High Up was defeated by the challenger, Doukas, with a 10-point difference.

Open City (Anoihti Poli)

Open City (Greek: Ανοιχτή Πόλη, romanized: Anoihti Poli) was the list endorsed by the then main opposition party Syriza, its candidate being Kostas Zachariadis who was chosen through a slim margin 17–15 in the political secretary, with other options being basketballer Nikos Pappas.^[16][1] Zachariadis was eliminated in the first round of voting, receiving approximately 13% of the vote. In the second round, Zachariadis endorsed Doukas and his list.^[17]

Popular Athenian Coalition (Laiki Syspeirosi Athinas)

Popular Athenian Coalition (Greek: Λαϊκή Συσπείρωση Αθήνας, romanized: Laiki Syspeirosi Athinas) was the list endorsed by the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) with their candidate Nikolaos Sofianos.^[18] The list saw a rise parallel to the one that their party saw in the May and June 2023 parliamentary elections.

Free Athenians (Eleftheroi Athineoi)

Free Athenians (Greek: Ελεύθεροι Αθηναίοι, romanized: Eleftheroi Athineoi) was the list endorsed by National Party – Greeks and the Spartiates party, and used to be endorsed by the now illegal Golden Dawn party. It was led by Ilias Kasidiaris, a convicted felon.^[19] The list managed to elect two councilors, including Kasidiaris.

Subversive Alliance for Athens (Anatreptiki Symmahia gia tin Athina)

Subversive alliance for Athens (Greek: Ανατρεπτική Συμμαχία για την Αθήνα, romanized: Anatreptiki Symmahia gia tin Athina) was a list of a coalition of Far-Left Groups that united when ND enacted a new election law that made it mandatory for a list to reach at least 3% to elect a councilor. Uniting behind the lawyer of the Golden Dawn trials Kostas Papadakis, the group was backed by Antarsya and MeRA25.^[20][9][10] The group reached 6% in the election, electing Kostas Papadakis as its Councilor.

Our Athens (I Athina Mas)

Our Athens (Greek: Η Αθήνα Μας, romanized: I Athina Mas) was the only independent list in the elections with their candidate being Eleni Papadopoulou, the list's beliefs tend to be in line with more right-wing thought with their candidate criticizing pride parades and illegal immigration.^[21][22] The list elected its candidate as councilor with almost 4% of the vote.

Members Elected

Source:^[14]

First Municipal Community

Second Municipal Community

Third Municipal Community

Fourth Municipal Community

Fifth Municipal Community

Sixth Municipal Community

Seventh Municipal Community

Source:^[26][27]

Note: The results of the second round are not stated for each Community, but they are stated for every polling place. This may be because the seats are distributed independently of how the community voted in the second round and distributed according to the results of the first round and the overall victor of the second round.^[26][28]

Reactions

After the election results, PASOK, having supported Doukas' ecologist list, asserted itself as the second most popular political party nationwide in the local elections. Syriza also congratulated Doukas, as their leader Stefanos Kasselakis endorsed him in the second round.^[29] The victory of Doukas attracted nationwide press and media attention. Doukas was the second most popular candidate in the elections in October 2024 for the leadership of PASOK, receiving 40.08%.^[30]

The resignation of Ilias Kasidiaris

In the results of the election Ilias Kasidiaris' list, two councilors, including himself, were elected. But due to his participation in convicted far-right criminal organization Golden Dawn as chairman, his reelection came under fire from antifascist groups with protests being held against him. Due to legal issues that would disallow him from serving as councilor and complaints from groups such as the members of the list of Kostas Papadakis, Kasidiaris resigned on 1 January 2024, having just taken the position.^[32][33][34]