By Antonis Anzoletou

A painful process for SYRIZA ends this evening with the election of the new president. The official opposition party has had a very difficult summer after two crushing defeats in the national elections. The resignation of Alexis Tsipras changed everything and in Koumoundourou they are trying to make a restart.

His entrance Stefanou Kasselakis brought the upset in the first round by taking first place from the Efi Ahtsioglou which was the favorite.

Last week the atmosphere became very polarized. Tones rose, comments on social media exceeded all limits and the thermometer hit “red”.

The two candidates served their narratives. Stefanos Kasselakis continued to speak for a modern patriotic Left, in the essence of politics and in the plan that Efi Ahtsioglou has insisted on.

Have there been any changes in tactics? After the 35-year-old businessman’s rant about the occupied lands in Cyprus, which he called a “state” of Turkey, he focused more on his program. The side of the former Minister of Labor found it to be his weak point. Efi Ahtsioglou, in response, chose to give television interviews to television stations in order to develop her program. Stefanos Kasselakis insisted on tours giving speeches and continuing contact with society.

The big bet for Koumoundourou, but also for the two candidates for the presidency of SYRIZA, is the reduction of abstention. They hope that the polarization will bring people to the polls, although traditionally there is always less interest in party repeat procedures. 182,000 members registered in the party’s registers are estimated.

It is recalled that the previous Sunday, approximately 149,000 had voted. 106,000 were old members and 43,000 new. About 33,000 people did not turn up at the polls.

Already 8,500 have identified their details, however those who wish from the old members who did not vote on September 17th can vote normally.

Polling stations that were filled with people will be provided with a second tablet, while for those of the old members who have not been identified, it has been calculated that a short control process will be carried out – through communication with Koumoundourou – to see if they are really in the registers.

The staffs of the two parties are on alert with their executives in the Member Organizations so that the necessary mobilization takes place. Nothing can be taken for granted. Stefanos Kasselakis has a wind of about 9 units and does not want to lose the advantage. “One Sunday voters” cause skepticism in his staff.

However, they express optimism that their audience is “concrete”. The “mistakes” of the last few days were quickly exploited by Efi Ahtsioglou in order to turn today’s battle into a thriller. They estimate that there is a mobilization of the traditional members – executives of the Left who are concerned about the risk of changing the character of SYRIZA.

Both will focus on Attica as the number of votes is very large. Stefanos Kasselakis received 25,418 votes and Efi Ahtsioglou 19,902. The basin gave them about 35% of the votes they collected throughout Greece. If Mr. Kasselakis maintains the difference, he will hardly lose. The bet for Ms. Ahtsioglou is to reduce the gap.

Some of Efi Ahtsioglou’s best performances were recorded in northern Greece, where she hails from. In the region of Central Macedonia, she narrowly lost to her opponent by 45 votes (8,550 – 8,595). In Pella, where he grew up, he won by a wide margin, getting 931 votes against Stefanos Kasselakis’ 254.

On the contrary, in Crete his origin, as well as the dynamics of Pavlos Polakis, gave Mr. Kasselakis a very big “air”. 5,384 of his fellow citizens voted for him, with Efi Ahtsioglou far behind (2,995 votes). In Chania, she achieved almost a double score by receiving 955 crosses compared to 499 that Efi Ahtsioglou got.