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The first round of local elections in Greece brought a surprise. Former Mayor of Athens Giorgos Kaminis who was a favourite according to preliminary polls yielded to SYRIZA candidate Gabriel Sakelaridis. In Attica, according to exit polls, again a SYRIZA candidate, Rena Dourou, ranks first, who outpaced the favourite in preliminary polls Yiannis Sgouros.

The change in Piraeus is also a significant one, where the majority of votes will most likely be gathered by representative of Olympiakos football team Yiannis Moralis. The situation remains the same only in Thessaloniki - independent Yiannis Boutaris retains his lead foreseen by preliminary polls.

According to the official vote count, which is traditionally carried out by the company Singular Logic, George Kaminis leads in the competition for Athens mayor with 21.66%, followed by Gavril Sakelaridis with 19.98%. Rena Dourou’s lead with 23.63 % of the votes in Attica has been confirmed, followed by Yiannis Sgouros with 22.03%.

Meanwhile, President of the Greek Parliament Vangelis Meimarakis warned SYRIZA not to rush to celebrate. "It is too early. We should not hurry either to rejoice or to grieve. We will not have a clear idea of the results before tomorrow morning. And let’s not forget that the second round of elections is next Sunday," he added.

The preliminary results in three major regions supported his words. There, representatives of the government coalition are leading. Costas Agorastos leads with 42.5% in Thessaly, Stavros Arnaoutakis leads with 40.4% on Crete, and Petros Tatoulis - with 43.1% on the Peloponnese.

Rates will be further specified during the night. So far, it seems certain that independent former mayor George Kaminis and SYRIZA candidate Gabriel Sakelaridis will compete for the Athens municipality next Sunday. Rena Dourou of SYRIZA and independent Yiannis Sgouros will compete for the district administration of Attica in the second round.

To be continued.