Stefanos Kasselakis

SYRIZA parliamentary group leader Nikos Pappas denied reports that he would be a candidate in the upcoming elections for the SYRIZA presidency during a press conference held as part of the 88th Thessaloniki International Fair on Sunday.

Nikos Pappas, the leader of SYRIZA’s Parliamentary Group, held the traditional press conference as part of the Thessaloniki International Fair (TIF).

Mr. Pappas represented SYRIZA at the TIF following the removal of Stefanos Kasselakis from the party’s leadership, after the meeting of the Central Committee.

SYRIZA is making a dynamic appearance, with nearly the entire Political Secretariat and most MPs from the main opposition attending the morning meeting with the management of the Thessaloniki International Fair (TIF) HELEXPO.

The countdown to the election for a new SYRIZA leader has been marred by court threats, verbal assaults, accusations and the presence of the police to maintain the security at party headquarters.

The office, traditionally used by the leader of the opposition, now belongs to the new SYRIZA Parliamentary Leader, Nikos Pappas.

The order to restrict entry was given by Mr. Pappas while he was away in Thessaloniki for official duties.

SYRIZA MP Pavlos Polakis, who has announced his intention to run for the party leadership in late November, expressed regret for having supported the recently ousted leader Stefanos Kasselakis during the vote that elevated him to the head of the main opposition party.

With 17 votes in favor, one against from Theodora Tzakri, and Olympia Teligioridou absent, the Political Secretariat of SYRIZA-Progressive Alliance reaffirmed the Central Committee’s decision to remove Stefanos Kasselakis from his role as party president.

In a vote late Thursday, SYRIZA's political secretariat confirmed that Stefanos Kasselakis has been removed as leader of the main opposition following a weekend vote of no confidence by the party's central committee. Seventeen members voted in favor of his removal, with one dissenting vote from MP Theodora Tzakri.

Former SYRIZA leader Stefanos Kasselakis took to social media late on Thursday to condemn "unbelievable provocations - from fake dialogues to fake invitations."
 
Kasselakis' post was published on social media during an emergency meeting of the party's political secretariat and as a small group of people gathered outside SYRIZA headquarters to protest against his removal.
 

The issue of who holds legal and administrative responsibility within SYRIZA after Stefanos Kasselakis’ dismissal has been raised by his team through an official leak concerning today’s developments, shortly before the emergency meeting of the Political Secretariat.