Local elections were held in

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wit ...

on 18 May 2014 (first round) and 25 May 2014 (second round). Voters elected representatives to the country's

local authorities Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loca ...

, comprising 13 regions and 325

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...

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.

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 Irene "Rena" Dourou ( el, Ειρήνη "Ρένα" Δούρου; born 7 October 1974) is a Greek political scientist and politician of the Coalition of the Radical Left (Syriza). From 2014 to 2019, she served as the Regional Governor of Attica. S ...

(

SYRIZA The Coalition of the Radical Left – Progressive Alliance ( el, Συνασπισμός Ριζοσπαστικής Αριστεράς – Προοδευτική Συμμαχία, Synaspismós Rizospastikís Aristerás – Proodeftikí Simachía), ...

) defeated incumbent

Ioannis Sgouros Ioannis or Ioannes ( el, Ιωάννης), shortened to Giannis or Yannis (Γιάννης) is a Greek given name cognate with Johannes and John and the Arabic name Yahya . Notable people with the name include: * Ioannis I, Tzimiskis, Byzantine Emp ...

(Society of Values) in the second round and succeeded him as Regional Governor of

Attica Attica ( el, Αττική, Ancient Greek ''Attikḗ'' or , or ), or the Attic Peninsula, is a historical region that encompasses the city of Athens, the capital of Greece and its countryside. It is a peninsula projecting into the Aegean Se ...

Central Greece

Kostas Bakoyannis ( ND) defeated Evangelos Apostolou (

) in the second round and succeeded Klearchos Pergantas (

PASOK The Panhellenic Socialist Movement ( el, Πανελλήνιο Σοσιαλιστικό Κίνημα, Panellínio Sosialistikó Kínima, ), known mostly by its acronym PASOK, (; , ) is a social-democratic political party in Greece. Until 2012, it ...

) as Regional Governor of

Central Greece Continental Greece ( el, Στερεά Ελλάδα, Stereá Elláda; formerly , ''Chérsos Ellás''), colloquially known as Roúmeli (Ρούμελη), is a traditional geographic region of Greece. In English, the area is usually called Central ...

Central Macedonia

Incumbent

Apostolos Tzitzikostas Apostolos G. Tzitzikostas ( el, Απόστολος Τζιτζικώστας; born 2 September 1978) is a Greek politician of the New Democracy party, governor of the region of Central Macedonia since 2013 and First Vice-President of the Europe ...

( ANEL/ EPAL/ LAOS) defeated contender

Giannis Ioannidis Giannis Ioannidis (alternate spellings: Ioannis, Yiannis, Yannis) (Greek: Γιάννης Ιωαννίδης; born 26 February 1945 in Thessaloniki, Greece) is a former Greek basketball player, professional basketball coach, and Greece New Democra ...

( ND) in the second round and remained Regional Governor of

Central Macedonia Central Macedonia ( el, Κεντρική Μακεδονία, Kentrikí Makedonía, ) is one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece, consisting of the central part of the geographical and historical region of Macedonia. With a populat ...

Crete

Incumbent

Stavros Arnaoutakis Stavros Arnaoutakis ( el, Σταύρος Αρναουτάκης; born 25 May 1956) is a Greek politician and former Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK); part of the Party of European Socialists. ...

( Drasi) defeated contender

Serafim Tsokas Serafim may refer to: * ''Serafim, the Lighthouse Keeper's Son'', a Croatian film * Serafim (given name), a masculine given name See also * Serafin (disambiguation) Serafin (Italian, Polish) or Serafín (Spanish) may refer to: * Serafin (band) ...

( ND) in the second round and remained Regional Governor of

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cypru ...

Eastern Macedonia and Thrace

Giorgos Pavlidis Giorgos Pavlidis ( el, Γιώργος Παυλίδης; 1956 – 20 October 2016) was a Greek politician of Nea Dimokratia. The long-standing Prefect of Xanthi was narrowly defeated in the 2010 local election, but was elected Governor of the reg ...

( ND), the former prefect of

Xanthi Xanthi ( el, Ξάνθη, ''Xánthi'', ) is a city in the region of Western Thrace, northeastern Greece. It is the capital of the Xanthi regional unit of the region of East Macedonia and Thrace. Amphitheatrically built on the foot of Rhodope m ...

, defeated incumbent

Aris Giannakidis Aris or ARIS may refer to: People * Aris (surname) Given name * Aris Alexandrou, Greek writer * Aris Brimanis, ice hockey player * Aris Christofellis, Greek male soprano * Aris Gavelas, Greek sprinter * Aris Howard, Former President of the Jamai ...

(ind.) in the second round and succeeded him as Regional Governor of

Eastern Macedonia and Thrace Eastern Macedonia and Thrace ( el, Ανατολική Μακεδονία και Θράκη, translit=Anatolikí Makedonía ke Thráki, ) is one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It consists of the northeastern parts of the cou ...

Epirus

Incumbent

Alexandros Kachrimanis Alexandros may refer to: *Alexandros, a Greek name, the origin for the English name Alexander *Alexander III of Macedon, commonly known as Alexander the Great *Alexandros, Greece, a village on the island of Lefkada *Alexandros (band), a Japanese r ...

( ND) defeated contender Olga Gerovasili (

) in the first round and remained Regional Governor of

Epirus sq, Epiri rup, Epiru , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = Historical region , image_map = Epirus antiquus tabula.jpg , map_alt = , map_caption = Map of ancient Epirus by Heinrich ...

Ionian Islands

Contender

Theodoros Galiatsatos Theodoros or Theodorus ( el, Θεόδωρος) is a masculine given name, from which Theodore is derived. The feminine version is Theodora. It may refer to: Ancient world :''Ordered chronologically'' * Theodorus of Samos, 6th-century BC Greek ...

(

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

North Aegean

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

North Aegean The North Aegean Region ( el, Περιφέρεια Βορείου Αιγαίου, translit=Periféria Voríou Eyéou, ) is one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece, and the smallest of the thirteen by population. It comprises the isla ...

Peloponnese

Incumbent

Petros Tatoulis Petros Tatoulis ( el, Πέτρος Τατούλης; born 6 March 1953 in Kastri, Arcadia) is a Greek surgeon and independent politician, currently serving as Regional Governor of the Peloponnese. A long standing Member of the Hellenic Par ...

( ND) defeated contender Odysseas Voudouris (

) in the second round and remained Regional Governor of

Peloponnese The Peloponnese (), Peloponnesus (; el, Πελοπόννησος, Pelopónnēsos,(), or Morea is a peninsula and geographic region in southern Greece. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmus of Corinth land bridge whi ...

South Aegean

Contender

Giorgos Hatzimarkos Giorgos, Yiorgos or Yorgos ( el, Γιώργος) is a common abbreviation of the given name Georgios. Notable people with the name include: Persons Giorgos * Giorgos Agorogiannis, Greek footballer * Giorgos Alkaios, pop musician and singer * Gio ...

( ND) defeated incumbent (ind.) in the second round and succeeded him as Regional Governor of the

South Aegean The South Aegean ( el, Περιφέρεια Νοτίου Αιγαίου, translit=Periféria Notíou Eyéou, ) is one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It consists of the Cyclades and Dodecanese island groups in the central and ...

Thessaly

Incumbent ( ND) defeated contender

Nikos Tsilimingas Nikos ( el, Νίκος, ''Níkos'') is a Greek given name. It originates from Greek ''Nikolaos'', which means "victory of the people".Liddell & Scott, Abridged Greek Lexicon Although used as a proper first name, Nikos is also a popular nickname of ...

( DIMAR) in the second round and remained Regional Governor of

Thessaly Thessaly ( el, Θεσσαλία, translit=Thessalía, ; ancient Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic and modern administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, The ...

Western Greece

Incumbent

Apostolos Katsifaras Apostolos Katsifaras ( el, Απόστολος Κατσιφάρας; born 1959 in Kalentzi, Achaea) is a Greek politician with PASOK. From 2004 on, he served as a member of the Hellenic Parliament, and shortly held the post of a deputy minister. ...

(ind.) defeated contender Andreas Katsaniotis ( Nea Dimokratia) in the second round and remained Regional Governor of

Western Greece Western Greece Region ( el, Περιφέρεια Δυτικής Ελλάδας, translit=Periféria Dhitikís Elládhas, ) is one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It comprises the western part of continental Greece and the north ...

Western Macedonia

Contender

Theodoros Karypidis Theodoros or Theodorus ( el, Θεόδωρος) is a masculine given name, from which Theodore is derived. The feminine version is Theodora. It may refer to: Ancient world :''Ordered chronologically'' * Theodorus of Samos, 6th-century BC Greek s ...

(ind.), defeated incumbent ( ND) in the second round and succeeded him as Regional Governor of

Western Macedonia Western Macedonia ( el, Δυτική Μακεδονία, translit=Ditikí Makedonía, ) is one of the thirteen Modern regions of Greece, regions of Greece, consisting of the western part of Macedonia (Greece), Macedonia. Located in north-western ...

Major municipalities

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh List ...

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...

Nationwide percentage results

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 New Democracy, or the New Democratic Revolution, is a concept based on Mao Zedong's Bloc of Four Social Classes theory in post-revolutionary China which argued originally that democracy in China would take a path that was decisively distinct ...

fared poorly, particularly Prime Minister

Antonis Samaras Antonis Samaras ( el, Αντώνης Σαμαράς, ; born 23 May 1951) is a Greek politician who served as 14th Prime Minister of Greece from 2012 to 2015. A member of the New Democracy party, he was its president from 2009 until 2015. Samara ...

' 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 Alexis Tsipras ( el, Αλέξης Τσίπρας, ; born 28 July 1974) is a Greek politician serving as Leader of the Official Opposition since 2019. He served as Prime Minister of Greece from 2015 to 2019. Tsipras has led the Coalition of t ...

said it was a "historic day", and that next Sunday would be "the first day of a new era."

Notes

References

{{Greek elections Local elections in Greece 2014 elections in Greece 2014 in Greek politics May 2014 events in Europe