REGIONAL AND MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS:Significant reinforcement of the KKE in all regions and large municipalities

On the 15th of October 2023, the regional and municipal elections were completed throughout Greece. The elections signified a big reinforcement of the KKE in all regions and large municipalities, while communist mayors were elected in 6 municipalities and hundreds of communists and other fellow militants were elected as municipal and regional councillors. The KKE participated in the elections in all 13 regions of the country, as well as in 262 municipalities, with the ballot paper under the name “People’s Rallying”. Based on the results, “People’s Rallying” gained over 10% in the 13 regions nationwide, up from 6.86% in the 2019 regional elections and 7.69% won by the KKE in the parliamentary elections last June.

“People’s Rallying” won around 14% in the Attica Region, while it almost doubled its share in the Thessaly Region, the area that recently flooded due to criminal policy. A significant increase of more than 2% was also recorded in the Region of Central Macedonia.The increase of “People’s Rallying” in the municipality of Athens was large, gathering 12.9%. It did not make it through the second round for less than 1.5%.

A communist mayor was elected from the 1st round in the island of Ikaria, while communist mayor was elected for the third consecutive time in Patras, the 3rd largest city in Greece. Moreover communist mayors were elected in the municipalities of Attica Kaisariani, Chaidari and Petroupoli and in Tirnavos which is located in Thessaly Region. The municipal authorities of "People's Rallying" will support the people in their daily struggle, opposition to the governments and the unpopular institutional framework of the Local Goverments.      

The electoral results confirm "positive processes that are in the making even though the correlation of forces still remains very negative. A current that disputes the dominant policy is slowly but steadily stabilizing and strengthening; a certain degree of detachment of workers’-people’s forces from the bourgeois parties is taking place; the prestige and trust in the KKE is rising, and the militant alliance with the KKE all over the country is growing" (from the statement of the GS of the CC of the KKE, Dimitris Koutsoumbas after the first round of the elections).

As soon as the final results were announced in the municipalities where People's Rallying emerged as the leading force, popular celebrations with hundreds of people broke out.