June 3-6
2010June 3-6
2010More than 12.000 party members participated in the pre-congress proceedings (approximately 75% of the total registered membership). In total, 1356 delegates were elected by the local assemblies all over the country (an analogy of 1 delegate for every 12 members, with a 30% representation quota for women). The final voting body of the Congress consisted of 1288 delegates, since 68 did not show up to register and receive their voting card.
Alexis Tsipras was re-elected as President of Synaspismos. He received 785 votes (75,63% of the vote of the 1038 delegates who took part in the election of a new Party President). A second candidate for the post, comrade Giorgos Vlahogiorgos, got 56 votes (5,40%). 162 delegates casted blank votes and there were also 35 invalid votes.
A new Central Political Committee was elected by 1040 delegates. The new CPC consists of 125 members (including the President of the Party and the Secretary of the Youth of Synaspismos, as ex officio members). In the election of the CPC there was a 28% quota for women (equal to the percentage of the registered women delegates) and a 30% quota for new members. Five different lists competed for the vote of the delegates.
The results were the following:
1. Left Unity: 50.63%, 62 members (17 women)
2. Left Current: 29.83%, 37 members (11 women)
3. Unified List of SYN members 2010: 17.23%, 21 members (6 women)
4. Initiative for the Left Re-composition: 1.17%, 2 members (1 woman)
5. List of independents: 1.17, 1 member
New CPC members: 46 (37%)
Women CPC members: 35 (28%)
Also, a new 5-member Economic Control Committee was elected.
The “Renovative Wing” of Synaspismos contested the majoritarian “Political Decision Document” with their own Document, which called for the immediate withdrawal of Synaspismos from our political and electoral coalition of SYRIZA. Immediately after the massive approval of the “Political Decision Document”, the leader of the “Renovative Wing”, MP Fotis Kouvelis, announced that the Wing would not participate in the following votings for the new Party President and Organs (CPC and Economic Control Committee). After this announcement, the majority of the registered delegates of the “Renovative Wing” (approximately 200 delegates) walked out of the Congress. Among them were 3 MPs of the Parliamentary Group of SYRIZA, comrades Fotis Kouvelis, Thanassis Leventis and Nikos Tsoukalis.
However, many other leading figures of the “Renovative Wing”, like our MP and former MEP, comrade Dimitris Papadimoulis, declared their position in favor of the unity of the Party, stayed in the Congress, and finally voted in the remaining processes.
After the end of the Congress, the President and the Leadership of Synaspismos had two consecutive official meetings with the leadership of the “Renovative Wing”, in an attempt to convince our comrades to stay in the Parliamentary Group of SYRIZA and remain as members in Synaspismos. Talks failed and, on 9 June 2010, in a special meeting of the Parliamentary Group of SYRIZA, Fotis Kouvelis announced that he, together with T. Leventis, N. Tsoukalis and the independent MP of SYRIZA, Grigoris Psarianos, are leaving the Parliamentary Group. In the same day, the 4 MPs officially delivered their independency statements to the President of the Parliament. The Parliamentary Group of SYRIZA now consists of 9 MPs.On Saturday, 12 June 2010, the newly elected CPC of Synaspismos held its first meeting, to elect a new Secretary and the new Political Secretariat of the Party. Comrade Dimitris Vitsas was re-elected as Secretary of the CPC (85 votes in favor, 40 blank votes). The new Political Secretariat consists of 21 members (5 women and 16 men).
Athens, 11 June 2010
With fraternal greetings,
The International Relations, Foreign and European Policy Departments
of the CPC of Synaspismos