Greek ruling party secures 7 of 13 regions in local elections

By Ahmet Gencturk

ATHENS (AA) - Greece's ruling conservative New Democracy (ND) party won seven of 13 regions in local elections, the country's Interior Ministry reported early on Monday.

With about 86% of the votes counted, candidates who were backed by ND won in the regions of Attica, Western Greece, Epirus, Central Macedonia, South Aegean, and Central Greece.

In Crete, the incumbent governor who was jointly supported by ND and the social democratic opposition PASOK party also won the elections.

Former Deputy Defense Minister Nikos Hardalis was elected regional governor of Attica, the country's most populous region that includes the capital city of Athens and the adjacent port city of Piraeus.

The mayors of Athens and Thessaloniki, the second-largest city of the country, will be determined in a runoff on Oct. 15 as no candidate secured the 43% threshold to win an outright victory.

Turnout was notably low, at only 51.5%.