With two main candidates for the presidency of the Central Union of Municipalities of Greece (KEDE), the current president, mayor of Ampelokipi – Menemeni Lazaros Kyrizoglou and the mayor of Athens Harry Doukas the general meeting of the Union is being held today to elect the new Administrative and Supervisory Board.

The common theme of the speakers – representatives of the factions was the criticality of today’s vote as “it will determine the next 5-year course of the Administration for an independent and sustainable Self-Government with resources, adequate staffing, rights, independence and claims for the benefit of the citizens even of the small municipalities of the whole country”

For that matter the minister of digital governance and former president of KEDE Dimitris Papastergiou in his welcome he applauded the “restoration of the injustice” at the expense of the small island and mountain municipalities achieved by the rational distribution of the CAP, stressing, “Greece is not only the urban centers. Now we see the municipalities with confidence for the future thanks to the programs that are running for smart cities with around 500 million euros from the European programs and we are going to create the municipalities of the next day, municipalities that are safe and humane for the citizens…” . Earlier the minister referred to the achievements of the Local Government during his presidency of the KEDE both during the pandemic period with the activation of all municipalities and their social services, as well as to the issue of governability which they were asked to deal with with the law of simple proportionality.

The current president L. Kyrizoglou, thanked his fellow citizens for the “supra-party”, continuous for the 6th time, his election to the town hall and asked for the “unifying support and trust” of the electorate in order to continue the creative and militant course of the Union’s Board of Directors. He referred more extensively to the successful claims of the First Class Local Government during the previous period, emphasizing that more than 500 legislative regulations were promoted in ministerial decisions, presidential decrees and laws in order to include them in the new self-government code. In closing, he reiterated the 5 axes of his faction’s claims concerning the autonomy of the municipalities, and the hiring of permanent staff through ASEP, financially strong and independent municipalities with full performance of the institutionalized resources. Clear responsibilities, sustainable and safe cities resilient to the climate crisis and cities with social policy cities.

For his part, the mayor of Athens X. Doukas observed that “A new road map is needed. With modern and safe cities, elimination of social problems (energy poverty, unemployed, homeless, etc.). He referred to the evolution of technology and its use by TA as he said “In the era of artificial intelligence we cannot use tools from the previous century”. He called on the Electoral College to turn the page, creating a new administration that will strengthen the autonomy and independence of the Municipalities emphasizing “This is what we promised to the citizens, that’s why they voted for us”. With regard to the relationship between municipalities and the government, he identified it as an institutional interlocutor and refuted the insufficient, as he characterized, increases that were achieved “eg: the increase in central autonomous resources that does not even cover the costs of employees, but also the “arbitrary interventions” at the expense of the municipalities such as “municipal authorities on the eve of assuming their duties to be informed by the media that we have to pay 240 million euros for the waste fee, that legal entities of the municipalities, school committees, municipal water supply, sewerage companies, etc. are abolished ».

It is noted that the General Assembly is attended by: All mayors (332), the municipal councilors who have been elected as representatives of each Regional Union of Municipalities in the General Assembly of KEDE (178), those who were members of the Board of Directors and Supervisory Board of KEDE during the previous self-governing period period as long as municipal councilors have been elected and retain this status (25).

Finally, in the General Assembly they “invaded” and were then installed, contractual employees of the Local Government, requesting their permanent status.