One tenth of MPs stepping down

The composition of the new Parliament which will emerge from the elections on May 6th will be regenerated by at least 1/10th, as is clear from the announcement of the parties that thirty members of the last parliamentary composition will not support their own reelection.

The fluid political situation emerging from the polls has led many MPs to the decision not to be candidates and to abandon their seats upon the Parliament’s dissolution. Other MPs state that they made a decision not to be candidates because they believe they must give way to new people who want to test themselves in the electoral arena.

The number of people moving to other party lists is also significantly larger.

PASOK will be the party counting most voluntary “retirements” of MPs, among them top executives like Vasso Papandreou, Theodoros Pangalos and Thanasis Tsouras - who states he will remain in the party. Their decision not to run has been announced by Justice Minister Miltiades Papaioannou, Dinos Rovlias and Sokratis Ksinidis, Vangelis Argiris  who will be an organizational secretary of PASOK, Kostas Geitonas, Vasilis Geranidis, Nikos Salagiannis, Soula Merediti, Spiros Vougias and Vangelis Papachristos, who was removed from the PG and downvoted both memoranda.

Spiros Kouvelis, Elias Mosialos and Tsetin Mandazi will not be running either. The latter was removed from the PG because he downvoted the loan agreement and his own integration in the Democratic Left was rejected,.

From the New Democracy party, parliamentary president Dimitris Sioufas will not be running, together with Konstantinos Karamanlis, who stepped down so “new people can join”. Stavros Dimas, minister of foreign affairs will not be running either, something which coincided with his son running in Korinthia.

Sotiris Hatzigakis, who was removed from the party during 2011 when he talked about far-right elements within the party, will not be running.

Also withdrawing their applications are Michalis Chalkidis, Giorgos Vagonias and Eliza Vozenberg.

Three members of the Communist party will also not be candidates - Vera Nikolaidou, Ioannis Protoulis and Antonis Skyllakos, who were included in their party ballots in ineligible positions.