2009 New Democracy leadership election

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2009 New Democracy leadership election

In November 2009, New Democracy, Greece’s main centre-right party, held a leadership election after its longtime leader Kostas Karamanlis announced his resignation. Karamanlis had led the party since 1997, but ND had lost the 2009 national elections.

Background: Karamanlis announced early general elections for September 2009 to address the economic crisis, and he said a new ND president should be chosen to lead the party in opposition to the ruling PASOK government.

Candidates: The main contenders were Antonis Samaras (then a senior minister in Karamanlis’s government), Dora Bakoyannis, and Panagiotis Psomiadis.

The vote and results: The leadership election took place on 29 November 2009. Turnout was about 782,136 votes cast, with 771,895 valid ballots and 10,241 invalid ballots. In the first and only round, Antonis Samaras won with 50.06% of the votes (386,400). Dora Bakoyannis received 39.72% (306,625), and Panagiotis Psomiadis got 10.22% (78,870).

Outcome: Because Samaras secured a majority in the first round, no second round was needed. He was elected President of New Democracy and took office on 30 November 2009, becoming the party’s leader and Leader of the Opposition against the PASOK government.