Konstantinos Tasoulas was elected President of the Greek Republic with 160 votes.
However his nomination sparked significant objections and oppositions that played out on the parliament floor as votes were tallied. Public anger over the Tempi train disaster has fueled fresh protests and renewed allegations of a government cover-up, with Tasoulas firmly in the crosshairs.
Zoe Konstantopoulou, President of the Freedom Sailing Movement, voiced her opposition in a letter condemning Tasoulas’ candidacy. She criticized his potential authority to grant pardons, including to convicted ministers, calling it a “gravely anti-institutional and anti-democratic choice.” During the parliamentary vote, Konstantopoulou dramatically raised her fist and declared, “No to the cover-up,” before leaving the plenary session along with her deputies.
The New Left party, led by Alexis Charitsis, formally abstained from the vote, issuing a statement condemning the process: “Hundreds of thousands of citizens across the country demanded justice and transparency for our democracy. The arrogant Mitsotakis government despises them. Today, it is escalating its regime’s descent with the election of Tasoulas, a politician who is being investigated for anti-democratic practices.”
PASOK and SYRIZA, have also escalated their criticism of the New Democracy government, joining calls against Tasoulas throughout the weeks-long election process.
Additionally, Maria Karystianou, President of the Association of Families of Victims of the Tempi Train Disaster, urged House Speaker Nikitas Kaklamanis to postpone the election in a letter sent to parliament. She argued that further investigation was needed into Tasoulas’ involvement in handling inquiries related to the train crash, which has triggered widespread public outrage.
The controversy surrounding Tasoulas stems from allegations that he played a role in concealing critical evidence related to the Tempi train disaster. According to reports, a prosecutor from Larissa submitted a report to Parliament in August which implicated a government official linked to the case. Due to Parliament’s summer recess, the document was not publicly addressed. When the legislature resumed, Tasoulas allegedly placed the report in an “open” case file, without officially presenting it to Parliament. Critics have argued this effectively meant Tasoulas “buried” the case “in the drawers of parliament.”
Despite the strong objections, Tasoulas secured the presidency. After three rounds of voting, the threshold for election has been reduced to 151 votes, so Tasoulas passed comfortably with 160.
In 2nd place was PASOK candidate Tasos Giannitsis with 34 votes. Next was Syriza-nominated Louka Katseli with 29 votes, as after the departure of the New Left, she lost 11 votes. Kostas Kyriakou collected 14 votes from the Niki MPs and from 4 independent MPs who come from the Spartans party. 39 MPs from KKE and Hellenic Solution declared themselves “present”.
