At 7 am the polls opened for the election of the new leadership of the Movement for Change in 840 polling stations in Greece and abroad where Greeks live in Europe, the USA and Australia. Voting will last until 7 pm and it is possible that a short extension may be granted by decision of the competent Committee on Statutes and Electoral Procedures (EDECAP).
Those who are already members of Kinal and those who wish to register as members or friends of the party by coming to the polling stations have the right to vote. They should fill in the relevant application form and vote by paying a contribution of 3 euros.
17-year-olds born before 31/12/2004 and registered in the National Electoral Registers can also vote. The relevant operators will look for the identification data required by the information system of the Ministry of Interior, where the voter's electoral number is sought. Identification requires a police identity card, passport or driving licence. Younger voters, e.g. 16-year-olds, will also be able to vote after they present, in addition to other things, a printed certified AMKA from the IDIKA application.
Nikos Androulakis will vote in Heraklion, Crete, Andreas Loverdos will vote in Metamorfosi, George Papandreou in Tavros, Harris Kastanidis in Thessaloniki, and Pavlos Geroulanos and Pavlos Christidis in Athens.
As announced by EDEKAP, «citizens of European Union countries who reside permanently in Greece, apart from the identification form (identity card or passport) will necessarily have to submit, in addition to the application for registration of a member or a friend, a certificate of social security number from the application of EDEKAP. Foreigners living in our country must have a passport, a valid residence permit in our country, a certificate of AMKA from the application of IDKA and necessarily if they are not members of the Movement to submit an application for registration of a member or friend of the Movement.
There has been a lot of talk about health measures in the wake of the pandemic.
Those who come to vote will be required to wear a mask while at the polling station. They are advised to keep their distance and avoid crowds as they will be in the open air until they vote.
Expatriates in the US, EU, UK and Australia can vote for those Greek citizens who meet the above criteria. That is, they are registered in the National Electoral Register. They will be certified in the same way as if they were in Greece.
The NECCAP has announced that the overseas polling stations will operate as follows:
Australia: From 10:00 to 19:00 local time
Cyprus: from 9:00 to 19:00 local time
European Union from 9:00 to 17:00 local time
England from 12:00 to 18:00 local time
USA from 9:00 to 16:00
Canada:Montreal from 9:00 to 15:00 and Toronto from 9:00 to 14:00 local time
After the polls close, the counting begins. It is estimated around 10 pm to announce the 15% of the results which will enable to see , as a trend, the final result.
Andreas Loverdos and Pavlos Christides voted
At the Cultural Center of the municipality of Metamorphosis voted shortly after 8:30 the candidate for the leadership of Kinal, Andreas Loverdos. He said, immediately afterwards, how «the time has finally come to lift the democratic party forward. It is time for PASOK to move forward to take our Greece higher». Loverdos noted that the goal is «to surpass the 212,000 citizens who voted in 2017» and stressed that strength, modesty and unity are required.
A short time later, Pavlos Christides, accompanied by his wife and young daughter, voted at the second building of the Athens City Hall, on Liosia Street in Metaxourgeio.
«It is a new day for PASOK and the Movement for Change. It is a day in which the sun shines. It is a day to remember Fofi Gennimata because without her we would not be here today,» Christides said.
