By Penelope Galliou

The government and officials are preparing for the final sprint of the pre-election period after the Prime Minister’s report from Peristeri that the polls are not far away and also his pun from the floor of the Parliament that the elections in the spring will bring a new spring to the place . Reports that bring closer and closer to reality the scenario that places the elections on April 9, after they have first been announced close to March 10.

With these data, the phones in Piraeus have caught fire and contacts and meetings have intensified, as these are the days when the final decisions are made on the ballots and the candidates who will draw them up. The overwhelming percentage of candidates seems to have already locked in with some outstandings remaining mainly local and not in the major regions.

After all, the long lists of candidates have been largely covered by the incumbent MPs who will remain on the party’s ballots, except for the three cases known so far, the MPs of Ilia Kostas Tzavara, Halkidiki Giorgos Vagionas and East Attica Georgia Martinou, who “retires from the political arena for personal – family reasons.

At the same time, however, those familiar with the preparation of the ballots speak of a strong renewal but also of a simultaneous “stronger female scent” as Piraeus’ aim is to increase the presence of women in the seats of the ND beyond the prescribed quota.

Traditionally, however, before the battle for the cross given by the candidates, there is always the battle for a place on the ballots, especially in the large districts. Such a battle has been fought for a long time for her A’ of Athenswhere the Kyriakos Pierrakakisnext to blue “giants” such as Vassilis Kikilias, Thanos Plevris, Nikitas Kaklamanis, Angel Syrigos, Fotini Pipili.

The EFKA representative will be on the same ballot Homer Tsapalosthe head of “Evangelism” nurses Dimitris Pistolasthe semantics teacher Christos Dagresbut also strong female presences such as the deputy mayor of Athens Anna Rokofillouthe lawyers Evita Varela and Phaedra Chalachouristhe mediator Pola Damianosthe English teacher Katerina Kourkoulisthe Greek-Libyan civil engineer Shakib Maryam and the Thekla Paraskevoudis.

To Northern Sector of Second Athensthe entry of the Deputy Minister of Development Nikos Papathanasiswith the parallel support of Adonis Georgiadis, stirs up the blue waters even though the one extra seat that the region gets could go to the ND and consequently elect one more member of parliament. Female presences are expected to increase with the workforce Olia Nikolopouloubut also the journalist Aria Agatsathe archaeologist Marianthi Mika and the Deputy Director of the “Agia Varvara” hospital Fotini Vryna.

The journalist is also expected to appear on this ballot Coconut Lightthe municipal councilor Nikos Zombolasthe doctor Tasos Karandreasthe former deputy mayor in Neo Heraklion Manolis Koutsogiannakisthe economist Christos Soulis and the economist Tasos Zacharopoulos which was downloaded in 2019 with the Union of Centers.

To South Sector of Athens B, the possible new name is the Minister of Citizen Protection Takis Theodorikakoswho will face the foreign minister Nikos Dendias. THE Dionysis Hatzidakiswho is elected in the region, supports the president of the gas stations of Attica Maria Zagawhich is based on Paleo Faliro.

Other nominations will be those of the lyricist Posidona Yiannopoulos and the actor Stavrou Nikolaidis. Also, candidates will be Tasos Korillisprofessor of Chemistry at Psychiko College, o Michalis Koumendakospulmonologist and former president of NODE, o Nikos Kanelloseconomist, Ph.D. of NTUA and Head of Research and Innovation of the National University of Athens, the international Maria Elli Koutsouveli and the Patapia of Kapralosstruggling lawyer.

To Western Sectorwhere he announced that he will be a candidate and there o Kyriakos MitsotakisThe Michalis Chrysochoidis will face him Miltiadis Varvitsiotiswhile a battle will also be fought between them Yannis Loverdou and the Deputy Minister of Labour Maria Syregela.

In the same region, candidates will also be the pharmacist Babis Karathanosthe tax professional Babis KaoukisThe Babis AposkitisThe Ilias Tsounis and the municipal councilor of Peristeri Tasos Kalliafas. The female presence on the said ballot with the journalist has also been renewed Roula KouskouriRoma Ismeni Lazaropoulou and the economist and deputy mayor of Agia Varvara Marianna Toumazatou.

In East Atticathe withdrawal of Georgia Martinou makes way for the deputy minister of the interior Stelio Pecha while a dynamic new entry is made by Sophia Zacharakis beside them Maki Voridis, George Vlachos, Vasilis Oikonomou, Yannis Sameli, Cave Cricket, Tasso Angelica, Nektarios Kalantzis, Vasiliki Kollia, Magda Kontogiannis, Katerina Katsandri, Cleopatra Triantafyllidou, Chinju Basilica.

In Western Attica, apart from the three MPs, the psychologist and journalist will be candidates Susanna Kaltouroumidou and the Maria Panoelialawyer in Mandra.

A tough fight will be given to Piraeus, due to the entry of Domna Michailidou into A’ Piraeus. Candidates in the specific region will be the Deputy Minister of Shipping Kostas Katsafados, General Nikos Manolakos, Noni Dounia, Yiannis Melas, while the other MP Christoforos Boutsikakis is flirting with the claim of Piraeus Municipality. The district in question is one of the most difficult riddles for Maximou, which will become even more complicated if the mayoral candidate in 2019, Nikos Vlahakos, enters the equation. Dimitris Markopoulos, Yiannis Tragakis, Giorgos Vrettakos, Spyros Hagkambimana and others will also look for the cross in Second Piraeus.

In A’ Thessaloniki, the question continues and remains whether MEP Maria Spyraki will be a candidate, with the scenarios being bicentennial for her. In the new entries, however, the mayor of Lagadas, Yiannis Tahmatzidis, was registered, while cardiologist Diamantis Golidakis will also be a candidate. Panagiotis Kokkoris is a candidate again, as well as the deputy mayor of the city Sokratis Dimitriadis and the lawyer Nikos Karagiannakidis. The journalist and brother of Kyriakos Velopoulos, Dimitris Venieris, withdrew from the ballot. The deputy mayor of Kordelio Fotini Pesmatzoglou-Devetzi also comes from the municipality, while the lawyer Aphrodite Nestora and the businessman Marios Dramalis, the doctor, vice-president of the Medical Association of Thessaloniki Maria Hatzidimitriou, Tania Kiumourtzidou, medical pharmaceutical representative and the first candidate will be businessman Smaro Maniatis.

At Second Thessaloniki, the first runner-up of 2019, Fanis Pappas, will fight against MP Dimitris Vartzopoulos, while the head of EFKA’s benefits department, Katerina Ziuta, and businesswoman, Christina Anatoliti-Plara, will again be candidates. A new candidate is Pylaia-Hortiatis municipal councilor Artemis Agathokleus, as well as English teacher Maria Giannopoulou, businessman Nikos Vidalis and civil engineers Sofia Lavasa and Panagiotis Theodorou.

Kyriakos Mitsotakis, apart from the Western Sector and Evros where he has announced that he will be a candidate, while he was expecting the third candidacy he is entitled to put in Larissa, after the departure of Kostas Karamanlis, the prevailing scenario brings him as a candidate in A’ Thessaloniki.​​