Optimism that participation may exceed that of 2019, where it had reached 57.78%
Voting continues smoothly throughout the territory, although there were problems in counting the percentage of citizens participating in the elections.
According to the latest update from the Ministry of Interior made at 17:00, the participation by 16:30 it is estimated at 48.76% with data from 17,548 polling stations.
However, there is optimism in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that the participation may exceed that of 2019, where it had reached 57.78%
Earlier, the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Michalis Stavrianoudakis, in the first official briefing that took place shortly after 2:00 p.m., emphasized that “in the 16,520 polling stations, participation is 31.52%, from the sample that came between 1:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m.: 30. The sample that came at 10-10.30 Greek time was very small and so we decided to give a second announcement with 80% of the polling stations”.
Speaking to ERT 3, Mr. Stavrianoudakis said that at around 9 pm we will have 80% of the election results in terms of ballots, while before 12 midnight, we will also know the alignments of the MPs
The messages of political leaders
All the political leaders came to the polling stations early in the morning, each sending their own message to the citizens.
The Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis voted at the 7th Primary School of Kifissia shortly before 11 am. Outside the polling station, where he arrived with his son and daughter, he was greeted by a crowd of people, who wished him success.
After exercising the right to vote, Mr. Mitsotakis, after wishing the celebrants a happy birthday, said: “Today we are voting for our future. We vote for higher wages, we vote for more and better jobs. We are voting for a more efficient National Health System, for a society with fewer inequalities, for a stronger homeland, with an important role in Europe, with protected borders.
Elections are the celebration of Democracy. Today, the responsibility for governing the country passes to you, the citizens, but I am absolutely sure that tomorrow will dawn an even better day for our country.
Be well, happy birthday and happy voting. Thank you very much”.
The president of SYRIZA, Alexis Tsipras, he voted at 10:30 in Kypseli, where he was greeted by people with slogans and applause. Mr. Tsipras arrived at the polling station cheerful and smiling, accompanied by his associates.
“Happy birthday to the celebrants”, Alexis Tsipras initially wished and continued saying: “Let’s hope that tonight the Greek people will celebrate with them. Because today is a day of hope, the citizens have in their hands the possibility to implement the majority request to change the course of the country. To leave behind a hard, difficult four years of inequalities, injustice, filthy lucre, job insecurity, auctions, indignity for pensioners, targeting for young people.
To leave behind an arrogant government, which does not feel the needs of the many and to pave the way for a government of progressive cooperation, in a program of social justice, for there to be hope for a better tomorrow, for a government that will have new persons and above all a new ethos and style of governance. Change is today in the hands of our people.”
The president of PASOK Nikos Androulakis voted in the 431st polling station, at the 1st Primary School of Arkalochori, which is housed in a container after the devastating earthquake of September 2021. Mr. Androulakis arrived at the polling station shortly before 10 am and cheerfully greeted the citizens who wished him good luck.
“The time has come for the sovereign Greek people” said Nikos Androulakis, adding: “I invite every Greek woman and every Greek man, with hope and optimism, to support the new effort we are making and I pledge that I will fight with all my strength for a strong social state which will reduce inequalities, with public health, public education, with equal opportunities for all Greek children and of course with a sustainable development that respects people and the environment”.
In addition, the president of PASOK-KINAL called on citizens “to turn their backs on toxicity, discord, to turn their backs on those who despise their real problems, on those who do everything just for power” adding that “they are capable of become beggars of Golden Dawn votes and on the other hand set up a parastate at the expense of democracy and the Greek people”.
Regarding his choice to vote in Arkalochori, which is also his father’s place of origin, Mr. Androulakis noted that he did so to underline what was, as he emphasized, “the staff state of Mr. Mitsotakis. It was an enclosure of chaos and clientelism and this is proven two years after the earthquake, that citizens continue to live under dramatic conditions in the containers.”
Addressing the citizens, he concluded: “Greek people, you deserve much more and we are here in the new effort to offer you.”
Immediately after, Mr. Androulakis visited the church of Saints Constantine and Helen which is celebrating. The temple suffered significant damage from the earthquake and is housed in a former bank.
Mr. Androulakis, who completed the pre-election campaign from Heraklion and also spent the eve of the elections in his hometown, is expected to leave at noon for Athens.
The head of the Central Committee of the KKE, Dimitris Koutsoubasvoted in the 152nd electoral division of the Municipality of Lamia.
In a statement, the General Secretary of the KE of the KKE said: “First of all, happy birthday to every Constantine, Konstantina, every Helen throughout Greece.
The Greek people have tried everything, especially in the last decade. He’s seen it all. Now he has gained a great deal of experience. We call today to come and vote, to go to the polls by strengthening, strengthening the KKE, which will be the strength for the Greek people themselves to be strong the next day”.
In Perama, the head of MeRA25 – Alliance for the Breakup voted at 9.30 in the morning Yanis Varoufakis in Perama.
After exercising the right to vote, Mr. Varoufakis stated that those 2-3 minutes inside the screen “werei a magical moment of dominant decision. Many generations were sacrificed for us to live this. No to abstention, even white, we vote.”
“Happy elections to all. We are moving forward” he concluded.
“Magic moment behind the blue screen. It ensures a hope, hope of a sovereign decision of our people. A people whose popular incomes are less than half of what they were 13 years ago. We have lost almost a million children, who continue to flee abroad. We have tens of thousands currently working in galley conditions in Rhodes, in the tourist resorts, who have been denied the right to vote by the authorities. Nevertheless, I believe that hope will succeed, give way to something more solid.
Happy elections to all, Democracy is imperfect, it is a stump but it is the best we could have. Whole generations were sacrificed,” said the head of MeRA 25 upon leaving the polling station.
In the 637th polling station, at the 1st Eleftheriou-Kordelio high school, in Thessaloniki, the president of Hellenic Solution voted, Kyriakos Velopoulosshouting “for our Macedonia”.
In the statement that followed, Mr. Velopoulos said:
“We can say happy birthday because we are not religious. Neither did we persecute the Church, nor did we prohibit Divine Repentance. Happy birthday to every Constantine and every Helen,” Mr. Velopoulos emphasized and continued:
“We have made a huge mechanism of parallel recording of the results, so that there is no possibility of falsification, and we believe that there may be such a possibility.”
“The third and most important thing for us is for the young people, but also the Greeks, in general, to vote for a Greek solution, not only for Macedonia but for all of Greece. And give us the opportunity to put all the thieves and all those who mocked the Greeks in prison. There is no such thing as a chase for us. Keep your heads up Greeks! High Greece! We will win!” added Mr. Velopoulos.
When asked about predictions regarding the results of the elections, he replied that his own effort is being made so that the Greek solution will be victorious and added:
“Whatever the ballot box says, whatever the Greek says, whatever Macedonia says, whatever Greece says. Predictions cannot be made.”
Source: Skai
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