Athens News Agency: News in English, 06-10-14

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From: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>

CONTENTS

[01] Greece ready for local elections Sunday

[02] PM to vote in Thessaloniki

[03] Country's leaders vote around the country

[01] Greece ready for local elections Sunday

"All preliminary work and preparations have been completed for municipal, community and prefectural elections to be held," Interior, Public Administration and Decentralisation Minister Prokopis Pavlopoulos announced.

In Greece, voting in elections is compulsory with exemptions under the law including the elderly over 70 years of age, and people residing more than 200 kilometres from the area in which they are registered to vote.

On the electoral list are 4,743,553 men, or 48.3% of the total; and 5,077,322 women, representing 51.7%. Youth aged 18 this year and voting for the first time account for 0.17% of voters.

A special register of European citizens eligible to vote contains 8,921 people, mostly from the United Kingdom (2,984), followed by Germany (1,823), Cyprus (768), Italy (684), Poland (604) and the Netherlands (490). Lowest in the ranking are Malta and Slovenia with one voter.

More than 18,000 police have been assigned from Saturday to guard the country's 24,710 ballotting centres, which open at 0700 hours and close at 1900 hours.

[02] PM to vote in Thessaloniki

Accompanied by his wife Natasha, the premier declined to make statements a day before nationwide ballotting.

"This is no day for statements. My wife and I are happy to be in our city, and to see our friends," Karamanlis told reporters at Thessaloniki's international airport.

The couple was met by the city's mayor, Vassilis Papayeoryopoulos.

As well as politicians, many members of the public travelled to their home cities, towns and villages to vote in the borough, community and prefectural elections, aided by mild weather.

Athens international airport said that flights were running at 90-95% passenger capacity, higher than usual but with no problems of congestion; and many long-distance trains were full.

Traffic was up at key motorway toll posts near Athens and Piraeus.

In a gesture of goodwill, local Athens authorities allowed parking violators whose licence plates had been removed to retrieve them at the minimum repayment level in time for voting.

[03] Country's leaders vote around the country

The president of the republic will cast his ballot in a municipality of the northwestern town of Ioannina.

The northern port city of Thessaloniki will see Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis vote for the candidate of his choice.

George Papandreou, leader of the main opposition Panhellenic Socialist Movement, is to place his ballot in the northern Athens suburb of Nea Erythrea.

Voting in the borough of Athens will be the head of the Communist Party of Greece, Aleka Papariga.

Finally, the leader of the Coalition of the Left, Movements and Ecology is to cast his ballot in the outer Athens suburb of Pendeli.

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