Athens News Agency: News in English, 09-11-07

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

CONTENTS

[01] 'Yes' to grass roots election of new ND leader

[01] 'Yes' to grass roots election of new ND leader

The proposal put to the conference by the organising committee, with the backing of all the candidates in the race, was passed by a large majority of the delegates attending.

Following the changes, the new leader of the party will no longer be elected by its MPs and a small number of representatives of local party organisations but anyone that is either a member of ND or wishes to join the party up until the day of the vote. The conference did not adopt calls to open the process even further, including even those that did not want to be registered members.

The conference at the Peace and Friendship Stadium in Faliro will continue on Sunday with further speeches by the delegates, following addresses delivered earlier on Saturday by each of the three candidates that remain in the race for the leadership and outgoing president Costas Karamanlis.

Predominating in the messages to the conference was the call for unity, so that the party would emerge strengthened from the election, regardless of its outcome.

The conference was also addressed early on by ND Central Committee Secretary Lefteris Zagoritis, who stressed the need to mobilise the party grass roots to participate in the election if the proposed changes were approved.

"The larger the number of those that come to vote, the greater the party's strength will be," he underlined.

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