The first is supported by the KKE and the second by New Democracy
The current Mayor Kostas Peletidis, who is the head of the “Popular Mobilization” faction, which is supported by the KKE, and Kostas Svolis, who comes from the ND and is the head of the “Patra Enomeni” faction, are facing each other in second round of elections for the nomination of the new mayor of Patreon.
In the first round of the elections, “Popular Rally” received 34,774 votes, gathering a percentage of 39.95%, while “Patra Enomeni” received 22,258 votes and a percentage of 25.57%.
From the second round of the municipal elections, the municipal faction “Patra – Spudaia ka Pali”, which was supported by SYRIZA and PASOK, as well as the independent faction, “Spiral”, were excluded.
The faction “Patra – Spudaia ka Pali” led by Vassilis Aivalis, received 17,171 votes and a percentage of 19.73%, while the faction, “Spiral”, led by Petros Psoma, received 12,843 votes and a percentage of 14.75%.
Regarding what the two aforementioned factions will do in the second round of the municipal elections, the faction of Vassilis Aivalis, “Patra – Great Again”, in a statement it issued, avoided standing in favor of any candidate, stressing: “The democratic citizens have and judgment and opinion to choose next Sunday the best for the future of our city. We trust their judgment.”
For its part, Petros Psoma’s faction, with its official announcement, stood in favor of Kostas Svolis, saying: “‘No to Kostas Peletidis’ on Sunday means ‘yes to Kostas Svolis’.” We would say the same if Vassilis Aivalis was in the second round.”
Recording the results of the first round elections, the faction of Kostas Peletidis came first in votes in four of the five municipal units, while the faction of Kostas Svolis in one of the five.
In particular, the “Popular Rally” came first in votes in the municipal units of Patras, Messatida, Paralia and Vrachneiko, while “Patra Enomeni” came first in the municipal unit of Rio, it was pointed out in APE BEE.
The two contenders
Kostas Peletidis, a doctor – cardiologist by profession, was first elected as a municipal councilor in 1998 with the party of the late Panagiotis Kosionis, while he ran for mayor of Patreon for the first time in 2006, receiving a percentage of 10.12%.
In the 2010 elections he ran for mayor for the second time, receiving a percentage of 16.52%, while in 2014 he was elected mayor of Patreon for the first time with a percentage of 25.06% in the first round and 63.53% in the second round.
In 2019 he was elected mayor of Patreon for the second time, receiving 40.60% in the first round and 70.86% in the second round.
Kostas Svolis, who is also a doctor – cardiologist by profession, was elected for the first time as a municipal councilor and in fact in first place in 2019 with the “Patra Enomeni” faction. In 2022, after the resignation of the leader of the faction, Nikos Papadimatos, he was elected to the position of the new leader.
