The plenary session of the Parliament tomorrow, Thursday (June 25), the debate on the new Code of Local Government, following the completion of deliberations on the relevant draft bill in the Committee on Public Administration, Public Order, and Justice…
The bill, the key provision of which is the establishment of elections for elected officials “in a single round”, was accepted by a majority of the committee.
Regarding the principle of the bill , New Democracy (ND) voted “in favor,” SYRIZA, the KKE, and the Freedom Movement opposed it, while PASOK, Greek Solution, and “Niki” reserved their positions for the plenary session.
The change to the system for local elections (i.e., to a single round instead of two) leads to higher voter turnout, which “gives mayors greater power,” said Mr. Livaniou. He also noted that the proposed electoral system will facilitate pre-election coalitions, the submission of joint slates, and policy dialogue before the election—in contrast to what happens between the first and second rounds, the Minister of the Interior added.
At the same time, commenting on calls to transfer powers from the central government to local government, Mr. Livaniou said that “the time has come to have a very serious discussion [. . .]
I would like, at some point, for example, Regional Government to take over Athens’ public transportation, similar to Transport for London in the Greater London Authority. At some point, we should discuss whether it would be better for the Region to handle this rather than the central government, or a series of other measures.”
However, he continued, “there are many difficult decisions: From time to time, local government has requested the Health Centers . “I am not convinced that Health Centers would function better under local government than as part of the National Health System,” said Mr. Livaniou.
