Konstantinos Tasoulas elected new president of Greece
Konstantinos Tasoulas, a former House speaker and New Democracy MP, was elected Greece’s new president on Wednesday.
Tasoulas, the candidate of the ruling conservative party, secured 160 votes in the 300-seat Parliament. A total of 276 lawmakers participated in the vote, while 24 were absent, including all 11 New Left MPs.
In the fourth and final round of voting, the threshold for election was a simple majority of 151 votes. With New Democracy holding 156 seats, Tasoulas’ victory was all but guaranteed.
Tasos Giannitsis, supported by the main opposition party PASOK, received 34 votes, while Louka Katseli, the candidate backed by leftist SYRIZA and New Left, garnered 29 votes. Kostas Kyriakou, the far-right Niki party’s candidate, received 14 votes.
Tasoulas will succeed Katerina Sakellaropoulou, whose term expires on March 13. The swearing-in ceremony is expected to take place on the same day.
