ATHENS – SYRIZA-Progressive Alliance leader Alexis Tsipras voted in the party elections at the center set up at the Town Hall of Peristeri, the western suburb of Athens, on Sunday morning.

The elections, open to the public with registration, are held nationally for party leader and Central Committee members. It is the first time the party base votes for leader, while the Central Committee will be elected by party members registered as of March 21.

“Today we call on citizens to claim Syriza as their own so tomorrow they may claim the future of the country as their own,” said Tsipras, who is expected to be confirmed as party leader. “Today is a historic day for Syriza-Progressive Alliance and a major day for the democratic wing of our country,” he underlined.

The main opposition leader noted that “we want this process to relate beyond our internal issues – which is an unprecedented process for us and will strengthen us a lot – and relate to the future of this country.” He called on every young man and young woman who have experienced work insecurity, pensioners who saw their opportunities diminished, and professionals to “provide a strong message of political change, in order to push political developments and usher in the time for a different direction for Greece and our people.”

Voting

Voting began at 08:00 and will end at 08:00 on Sunday. As of 12:00, a total of 40,000 people had already voted, party headquarters said. According to this indication, it is expected that over 100,000 members will cast a vote. “The new members coming to vote are nearly double from the current signed up members of Syriza-PA,” the party sources noted.