Syriza leadership election

Tectonic changes in political and parliamentary balances are being caused by SYRIZA‘s new split, which now directly threatens to strip it of its status as the main opposition party.

Former SYRIZA leader Stefanos Kasselakis has announced he is leaving the party.

Kasselakis made his decision known after the party's congress made it clear it would refuse to consider his candidacy for the leadership election to be held later this month.

He added that he will be forming a new party and will make a further announcement early Saturday afternoon.

Stefanos Kasselakis announced his departure from SYRIZA from his office in Tavros while the opposition party’s conference was taking place in Gazi.

At the same time, he informed his supporters of the creation of a new political party.

A few hundred people gathered outside the Gazi venue in central Athens on Friday ahead of the SYRIZA party congress, set to begin at 6.30 p.m., amid tensions over the congress's delegate composition.

Pavlos Polakis, SYRIZA MP and candidate for the party leadership, claimed on Thursday to have evidence that former party president Stefanos Kasselakis submitted inaccurate wealth declarations to the party.

The mood in SYRIZA remains unchanged, 24 hours before the start of the extraordinary congress in Gazi. In a new post on Twitter, Stefanos Kasselakis denounces the “87” – continuing last night’s “incident” in Pagrati – that not only are they “cutting delegates, but also adding people who were not elected.”

Stefanos Kasselakis, ousted recently as the leftist SYRIZA party's leader, has slammed party rivals for withholding information on a three-day congress starting Friday, claiming they intend to stage it in secret. 

Posting on social media, the former SYRIZA leader said the party is "under occupation."

A year after splitting from SYRIZA over irreconcilable differences with the party's new leadership under now-ousted Stefanos Kasselakis, New Left, established by 11 influential members of the main opposition's parliamentary group, is holding its inaugural congress in Athens, starting on Thursday.

The newly-formed New Left party is gearing up for its inaugural congress, set to take place Thursday at the Peace and Friendship Stadium in Neo Faliro.

The party, a SYRIZA offshoot created after Stefanos Kasselakis assumed control of the main opposition party last September, over the weekend elected over 1,400 delegates through local organizations across Greece and abroad.

Both factions vying for control of SYRIZA's left opposition have claimed victory in the weekend's delegate elections, which took place ahead of the critical party congress later this week.