# 2023 Athens municipal election

2023 Athens Municipal election was held on 8 October 2023 to elect the mayor of Athens as a part of the 2023 Greek Local elections. It moved to a second round run-off that took place a week later, on 15 October, between incumbent Kostas Bakoyannis backed by centre-right New Democracy and Haris Doukas backed by social democratic PASOK and Syriza.
As all municipal elections in Greece the system used is one of 2-round proportional representation with reinforced proportinality.
After defeating Syriza with a slim precedence in the first round, in the second round, PASOK candidate Haris Doukas won with almost 56% of the vote, defeating the incumbent Kostas Bakoyiannis, and getting almost 10 points ahead, having been supported by democratic socialist Syriza (in the second round), Volt, the Pirate Party and other green parties, receiving an absolute 3/5s majority in the municipal council as per a new electoral law.

## Background
### Previous Election

In the previous election incumbent PASOK list, with its former candidate not running, was defeated by challenger Bakoyannis winning 21 out of the 49 seats, with Syriza candidate Nasos Iliopoulos coming second being defeated in the second round with ND candidate being ahead with an over 40 point margin, yet this being with the previous electoral law Bakoyannis failed to achieve a full majority in the council. With other smaller candidates also picking up seats such as Pavlos Geroulanos of PASOK managing to elect 8 seats, Golden Dawn candidate and former spokesman Ilias Kasidiaris electing 5 and communist KKE candidate Nikos Sofianos electing 4, other more minor lists took up 1 or fewer seats each.
2019 Athens municipal election result :
| List | Seats | Vote share 1st | Vote share 2nd |
| Athina Psila | 21 | 42,65 | 65,25 |
| Anihti Poli | 8 | 16,98 | 24,75 |
| Athina eisai Esy | 6 | 13,19 | |
| Elliniki Avgi gia tin Athina | 5 | 10,53 | |
| Laiki Syspirosi Athinas | 4 | 7,47 | |
| Athina Gia tin Ellada | 1 | 2,21 | |
| Athina kai pali Athina | 1 | 2,04 | |
| Athina, to spiti mas | 1 | 1,57 | |
| Antarsia Stis Geitonies tis Athinas | 1 | 1,54 | |
| Antikapitalistiki Anatropi - Antarsia stin Athina | 1 | 0,99 | |
| Metopo Anatropis gia tin Athina | 0 | 0,82 | |
Source:

### Electoral system
#### New Law

The New Democracy government changed the law on local elections, enacting "Law 4804/2021". As per this law, "The distribution of municipal or regional council seats between the successful and runner-up list is done by a system of Reinforced proportionality, so that the successful combination holds at least 3/5 of the council seats.". Also stating that when it comes to the percentage needed for a list to enter the council and the percentage needed or the elections to lack a second round that "[...] in order for a list to be entitled to at least one seat on the municipal or district council, it must receive at least 3% of the valid ballots in the first round of elections. The combination that received at least 43% of the valid ballots plus one vote in the first round is declared successful and its head is elected mayor or regional governor."

#### Reactions

This law faced backlash with parties on the threshold, such as, but not limited to, the parties conjoined in Antarsya (New Left Current(NAR), Socialist Workers' Party, Revolutionary Communist Movement of Greece(EKKE), Alternative Ecologists) calling the law undemocratic and that ND was attempting to reinforce their own position by removing simple proportionality.

## Candidates
### Athens NOW (Athina TORA)

AthensNOW (Greek: ΑθήναΤΩΡΑ, romanized: AthinaTORA) was a municipal list formed in August of 2023 based on an environmentalist, anti-tourist ideology with its candidate being PASOK member Haris Doukas. The list was supported by many parties such as PASOK, Volt Greece, Pirate Party and other small Green parties.
The list surpassed Syriza's candidate, and entered the second round, whereby securing the support of Syriza, as well as the support from groupings within Antarsya, Doukas managed to defeat incumbent ND affiliate Kostas Bakoyannis and elect 26 councilors.

### Athens High Up (Athina Psila)

Athens High Up (Greek: Αθήνα Ψηλά, romanized: Athina Psila) was the incumbent list endorsed by the governing party New Democracy with its candidate being incumbent mayor Kostas Bakoyannis.
The list was defeated by challenger Haris Doukas with a 10 point difference.

### Open City (Anoihti Poli)

Open City (Greek: Ανοιχτή Πόλη, romanized: Anoihti Poli) was the list endorsed by the then main opposition party Syriza, its candidate being Kostas Zachariadis who was chosen through a slim margin 17-15 in the political secretary, with other options being basketballer Nikos Pappas.
Zachariadis was eliminated in the first round of voting only receiving slightly more than 13% of the vote, later endorsing Doukas and his list.

### Popular Athenian Coalition (Laiki Syspeirosi Athinas)

Popular Athenian Coalition (Greek: Λαϊκή Συσπείρωση Αθήνας, romanized: Laiki Syspeirosi Athinas) was the list endorsed by the Communist Party of Greece(KKE) with their candidate Nikolaos Sofianos.
The list saw a rise parallel to the one that their party saw in the May and June 2023 parliamentary elections.

### Free Athenians (Eleftheroi Athineoi)

Free Athenians (Greek: Ελεύθεροι Αθηναίοι, romanized: Eleftheroi Athineoi) was the list endorsed by National Party – Greeks and the Spartiates party, and used to be endorsed by the now illegal Golden Dawn party. It was lead by Ilias Kasidiaris, a convicted felon.
The list managed to elect 2 councilors including Kasidiaris.

### Subversive alliance for Athens (Anatreptiki Symmahia gia tin Athina)

Subversive alliance for Athens (Greek: Ανατρεπτική Συμμαχία για την Αθήνα, romanized: Anatreptiki Symmahia gia tin Athina) was a list of a coalition of Far-Left Groups that united when ND enacted a new election law that made it mandatory for a list to reach at least 3% to elect a councilor. Uniting behind lawyer of the Golden Dawn trials Kostas Papadakis, the group was backed by Antarsya and MeRA25.
The group reached 6% in the election electing Kostas Papadakis as its Councilor.

### Our Athens (I Athina Mas)

Our Athens (Greek: Η Αθήνα Μας, romanized: I Athina Mas) was the only independent list in the elections with their candidate being Eleni Papadopoulou, the list's beliefs tend to be in line with more right-wing thought with their candidate criticizing pride parades and illegal immigration.
The list ended up electing its candidate as councilor with almost 4% of the vote.

## Results
### Results

| Candidate | Candidate | Party | Votes | % | Votes | % | Seats | +/– |
| | Kostas Bakoyiannis | AthensNow | 57.802 | 41.35 | 50.397 | 44.03 | 8 | –13 |
| | Haris Doukas | Athens High Up | 19.842 | 14.19 | 64.062 | 55.97 | 26 | +20 |
| | Kostas Zachariadis [el] | Open City | 18.668 | 13.35 | | | 3 | –5 |
| | Nikolaos Sofianos | Popular Coalition | 18.002 | 12.88 | | | 2 | –2 |
| | Ilias Kasidiaris | Free Athenians | 11.643 | 8.33 | | | 2 | –3 |
| | Kostas Papadakis | Subversive Alliance for Athens | 8.515 | 6.09 | | | 1 | –1 |
| | Eleni Papadopoulou | Our Athens | 5.311 | 3.80 | | | 1 | New |
| Total | Total | Total | 139.783 | 100.00 | 114.459 | 100.00 | 43 | – |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | Valid votes | 139.783 | 96.14 | 114.459 | 95.18 | | |
| Invalid votes | Invalid votes | Invalid votes | 3.277 | 2.25 | 3.102 | 2.58 | | |
| Blank votes | Blank votes | Blank votes | 2.334 | 1.61 | 2.7 | 2.25 | | |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 145.394 | 100.00 | 120.261 | 100.00 | | |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 449.902 | 32.32 | 449.902 | 26.73 | | |
| Source: Athens Court of First Instance |||||||||

### Members Elected

Members Elected to Municipal Council :
| List | Full name |
| Athina Tora | Haris Doukas |
| Athina Tora | Roxani-Evangelia Bei-Karampotsou , |
| Athina Tora | Georgios Apostolopoulos |
| Athina Tora | Ioanna (Tzini) Gennimata |
| Athina Tora | Maria Stratigaki |
| Athina Tora | Olga Dourou |
| Athina Tora | Christina Vasileiou |
| Athina Tora | Kalliopi (Popi) Giannopoulou |
| Athina Tora | Zacharoula Agrogianni – Moukriotou |
| Athina Tora | Nikolaos Laliotis |
| Athina Tora | Athanasios Cheimonas |
| Athina Tora | Georgios-Konstantinos Giannaros |
| Athina Tora | Artemis Skoumpourdi |
| Athina Tora | Eleni Zontirou |
| Athina Tora | Vasiliki Barka |
| Athina Tora | Maro Evangelidou |
| Athina Tora | Nikos Chrysogelos |
| Athina Tora | Dimitra Sideri |
| Athina Tora | Thomas Georgiadis |
| Athina Tora | Evangelos Giannopoulos |
| Athina Tora | Mina Fountzoula |
| Athina Tora | Panagiotis – Paris Charlaftis |
| Athina Tora | Elena Mantzavinou |
| Athina Tora | Andreas Grammatikogiannis |
| Athina Tora | Manolis Velegrakis |
| Athina Tora | Despoina Limniotaki |
| Athina Psila | Kostas Bakoyannis |
| Athina Psila | Nikolaos Avramidis |
| Athina Psila | Christos Tentomas |
| Athina Psila | Manolis Kalampokas |
| Athina Psila | Alexia Evert Alverti |
| Athina Psila | Georgios Voulgarakis |
| Athina Psila | Katerina Gkagkaki Dimitriadou |
| Athina Psila | Sakis Kollatos |
| Anoixti Poli | Kostas Zachariadis |
| Anoixti Poli | Despoina Alevyzaki |
| Anoixti Poli | Diana Voutyrakou |
| Laiki Syspeirosi | Nikolaos Sofianos |
| Laiki Syspeirosi | Charis Vourdoumpas |
| Eleftheroi Athinaioi | Ilias Kasidiaris |
| Eleftheroi Athinaioi | Gianna Betty |
| Anatreptiki Symmahia gia tin Athina | Kostas Papadakis |
| I Athina Mas | Papadopoulou Eleni |
Source:

## Community Results

All seven Municipal Communities were won by Kostas Bakoyannis in the first round but with the new electoral law in all individual councils Haris Doukas won a 3/5 majority due to his victory in the second round, with all other lists getting either 1 or no seats in every Community Council.

### First Municipal Community

| List | Seats | Vote share 1st |
| AthinaTORA | 9 | 3.485 |
| Athina Psila | 3 | 7.259 |
| Anihti Poli | 1 | 2.310 |
| Laiki Syspirosi Athinas | 1 | 1.901 |
| Anatreptiki Symmahia gia tin Athina | 1 | 1.533 |
| Eleftheroi Athineoi | 0 | 1.209 |
| I Athina Mas | 0 | 664 |

### Second Municipal Community

| List | Seats | Vote share 1st |
| AthinaTORA | 9 | 3.548 |
| Athina Psila | 3 | 9.925 |
| Anihti Poli | 1 | 3.252 |
| Laiki Syspirosi Athinas | 1 | 3.073 |
| Eleftheroi Athineoi | 1 | 1.849 |
| Anatreptiki Symmahia gia tin Athina | 0 | 1.305 |
| I Athina Mas | 0 | 847 |

### Third Municipal Community

| List | Seats | Vote share 1st |
| AthinaTORA | 7 | 1.471 |
| Athina Psila | 2 | 5.634 |
| Anihti Poli | 1 | 1.904 |
| Laiki Syspirosi Athinas | 1 | 1.801 |
| Eleftheroi Athineoi | 0 | 1.151 |
| Anatreptiki Symmahia gia tin Athina | 0 | 780 |
| I Athina Mas | 0 | 470 |

### Fourth Municipal Community

| List | Seats | Vote share 1st |
| AthinaTORA | 9 | 2.063 |
| Athina Psila | 3 | 7.671 |
| Laiki Syspirosi Athinas | 1 | 2.421 |
| Anihti Poli | 1 | 2.160 |
| Eleftheroi Athineoi | 1 | 1.919 |
| Anatreptiki Symmahia gia tin Athina | 0 | 790 |
| I Athina Mas | 0 | 620 |

### Fifth Municipal Community

| List | Seats | Vote share 1st |
| AthinaTORA | 9 | 2.620 |
| Athina Psila | 2 | 8.139 |
| Laiki Syspirosi Athinas | 1 | 2.811 |
| Anihti Poli | 1 | 2.688 |
| Eleftheroi Athineoi | 0 | 1.664 |
| Anatreptiki Symmahia gia tin Athina | 0 | 1.076 |
| I Athina Mas | 0 | 791 |

### Sixth Municipal Community

| List | Seats | Vote share 1st |
| AthinaTORA | 9 | 2.949 |
| Athina Psila | 2 | 8.722 |
| Anihti Poli | 1 | 2.903 |
| Laiki Syspirosi Athinas | 1 | 2.632 |
| Eleftheroi Athineoi | 1 | 2.006 |
| Anatreptiki Symmahia gia tin Athina | 0 | 1.301 |
| I Athina Mas | 0 | 962 |

### Seventh Municipal Community

| List | Seats | Vote share 1st |
| AthinaTORA | 9 | 3.688 |
| Athina Psila | 2 | 10.452 |
| Anihti Poli | 1 | 3.451 |
| Laiki Syspirosi Athinas | 1 | 3.363 |
| Eleftheroi Athineoi | 1 | 1.845 |
| Anatreptiki Symmahia gia tin Athina | 0 | 1.730 |
| I Athina Mas | 0 | 975 |
Source: Athens Court of First Instance
Note: The results of the second round are not stated for each Community yet are stated for every polling place. This may be because the seats are distributed independently of how the community voted in the second round and distributed according to the results of the first round and the overall victor of the second round.

## Aftermath
### Reactions

The victory of the ecologist list of Haris Doukas backed by PASOK. While PASOK considered this as a victory claiming to be the 2nd power nationwide in the local elections, with Syriza also congratulating Doukas for his victory having had their then leader Stefanos Kasselakis endorse him in the second round.

#### Post-Election proposed reforms

The New Democracy government after the end of the second round of the elections brought up the possibility of new reforms being proposed for the local election. With new digital voting and the possibility of by-elections, also removing "crosses", meaning preferred voting of individual candidates instead of just voting the list as a whole, this being the same model followed by the state in Parliamentary elections.
This became known as the "Livanios Plan" which saw backlash by opposition parties. Then Syriza parliamentary group spokesman Nikos Pappas rejected the plan, proposing a plan with second choice votes stating that "this plan [The one proposed by ND] is not steering in this direction". PASOK leader Nikos Androulakis exclaimed criticism, stating that New Democracy is undermining Local governance, further calling local governance "Fundamental to our Democracy".

### The resignation of Ilias Kasidiaris

The reelection of former member of far-right Golden Dawn and convicted criminal Ilias Kasidiaris caused massive backlash amongst many antifascist groups including Kostas Papadakis' Antarsya endorsed list and, possibly due to this pressure, Kasidiaris resigned on 1 January 2024 having just taken the position.