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Georgios Kaminis is PASOK's candidate for mayor of Athens. After long anticipation, the Socialist leader and Prime Minister of Greece George Papandreou along with his advisers decided what will be the names of the thirteen candidates for the municipal elections in the country. The decision was announced at the ninth National Council of the movement. The name of Georgios Kaminis was suggested by Spiros Kuvelis who is leader of the newly separated from SIRIZA left faction of the Democratic left party. Adopting a common candidate for mayor of Athens was described by Kuvelis as an important first step in the pre election struggle, the outcome of which must be a victory.

Thus Papandreou decided to join forces with the Democratic left party, to try to ensure a stronger position over its competitors from New Democracy and LAOS. For the mayor’s seat of Athens the candidate of PASOK will have to compete with the present mayor of the capital Nikitas Kaklamanis, who has the support also of Dora Bakoyannis – the newly separated member of New Democracy.

The last position held by Georgios Kaminis was Ombudsman which he left after eight years of service at the end of August this year in order to run for mayor of Athens. "I agreed to the kindly offered to me candidacy because I believe that my work as an Ombudsman in Greece is over," said the socialist nominate and explained that the invitation came at a time when Athens is experiencing acute crisis and needs an alternative that is not affected by party bias.

The agony for the supporters of PASOK was great because until the last moment rumors were spread that the nomination for the Mayor of the capital by the governing socialists will be the current Deputy Minister of Healthcare Fofi Genimata. In preliminary analysis her nomination was the most voted, and most political analysts in the country commented that she would be more useful as mayor of Athens, rather than as deputy Minister of Healthcare. Regardless of the reputation that George Kaminis has created as Ombudsman studies of the statistical agency GPO show that voters have more confidence in Fofi Genimata.

Other important nominations of the Socialists for the central townhalls in the country include that of the former regional governor of Piraeus Yiannis Mihas. The businessman Yannis Butaris who is an expert in wine will apply for mayor of Thessaloniki with the green ballot, and the present governor of Achaia Dimitris Katsikopoulos will try to fight for the mayor's seat in Patras.

PASOK’s candidates for the 13 districts in the country are:

• Yannis Sguros for Attica region (Athens office);
• Deputy Minister of Economy Markos Bolaris is a candidate for the District of Central Macedonia (Thessaloniki headquarters);
• Aris Yanakidis, who is currently a governor in the region of Rodopi is now a candidate for District Eastern Macedonia-Thrace (Komotini headquarters);
• Municipal Counselor Yannis Papayordanis is nominated for governor in the district of western Macedonia (Kozani headquarters);
• Vice-Chairman of the Parliament Vagelis Argiris is the socialist candidate for District Epirus (Ioannina headquarters);
• Apostolis Papatolias for the region Thessaly (Larissa headquarters);
• Kelarhos Pergadas for the region of central Greece (Lamia headquarters);
• Deputy Minister of Justice Apostolos Katsifaras nominated for the district of west Greece (Patras headquarters);
• Stavros Arnautakis for the district of Crete (Heraklion headquarters);
• The former mayor of Mitylene Nasos Yakalis will try for governor in the northern Aegean region (based Mitylene);
• Yannis Maheridis for the district of South Aegean (headquarters Ermupolis);
• Petros Tatulis for Peloponnese region (headquarters Tripoli);

The candidate for municipal governor of Ionian Islands (Corfu headquarters) is still to be announced next week.Listen

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