Greece’s ruling conservatives suffer setbacks in regional, municipal elections
By DEMETRIS NELLAS
Associated Press
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece’s ruling New Democracy party suffered a setback in runoff elections for regional governors and mayors, losing the country’s two largest cities and five of the six regional contests. Turnout, at 40.7% for the municipal contests and 35.1 % for the regionals Sunday, was lower than the 52.5% registered in the first round. The loss of the capital Athens, where the incumbent mayor was Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ nephew, and the region of Thessaly, were the most significant results. Conservative dissidents prevailed over officially endorsed candidates in four regional contests.