Both of the warring camps within SYRIZA have claimed victory in this weekend’s delegate elections.
Party central committee officials told media that they had secured around 65% of delegates, asserting their control over the congress agenda and again routing Stefanos Kasselakis’ leadership ambitions.
Stefanos Kasselakis, however, rejected these results as “fake,” writing on X: “This sweeping victory does not have my name on it. It has the word DEMOCRACY written on it. Unfortunately, for months now, a small group has decided to delete this word from its vocabulary. Today, they should accept the result – which is signed and checked by every Member Organization and prefecture – and we should go smoothly to the party congress. Instead, they chose to put out fake results.”
The elections, conducted amid tensions and accusations, were held to determine delegate count ahead of Syriza’s upcoming party congress, where the nominations for presidential candidates will be confirmed.
Kasselakis seeks to overturn a recent central committee decision that barred him from running for party president. The ousted president has argued that the upcoming party congress should hold the final say on his candidacy, not the party’s political secretariat. He has urged voters to vote for delegates to support him, even creating a website to collect a list of supporters and leasing office space for his camp.
His opponents accused him of acting “with Trumpian logic” to undermine SYRIZA’s unity, and of preparing a splinter party.
In official statements, SYRIZA leadership emphasized party unity, democratic values, and opposition to Greece’s ruling New Democracy party, calling for a “strong, united SYRIZA, faithful to the mandate of the Greek people for official opposition to the arrogant and anti-people government of New Democracy and Kyriakos Mitsotakis. But also for a SYRIZA that will move forward, with seriousness, responsibility, reliability, militancy, leaving behind introversion.”
SYRIZA members Sokratis Famellos and Rania Svigou urged members to rally together for a “strong, united SYRIZA.”
The SYRIZA party congress will be held from November 8 to10. The final leadership vote is set for November 24.
