Theodoros Behrakis was sworn in on Friday as the new Mayor of Athens, replacing Dora Bakoyannis who resigned from the post after being appointed foreign minister in a recent Cabinet reshuffle.

Municipal councilor Behrakis was elected as the new Mayor on Thursday, during a vote held within the municipal council. The new mayor belongs to the same New Democracy- affiliated party that originally won the municipal elections, with former Mayor Bakoyannis heading the ticket.

Behrakis received 14 of the 25 votes and his opponent Angelos Moschonas received 10, while one blank ballot was also cast. A third candidate withdrew from the race shortly before the voting began.

The vote was held after the elected mayor Dora Bakoyannis resigned her post in order to join the government as foreign minister, during a recent cabinet reshuffle.
Behrakis will hold the mayor's post until the next municipal elections in October this year, when he has made it clear that he will step down and not seek re-election, making way for New Democracy's chosen candidate Nikitas Kaklamanis, the highly popular former health minister.

The swearing-in ceremony was attended by Bakoyannis, who said that she felt comfortable in the knowledge that she was leaving in Athens in good hands.
On his part, Behrakis said that the Athens municipal council should continue its "exemplary work" of the past three years, undeterred by the fact that it was entering a pre-election period.

Source: Athens News Agency

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