Amongst those who voted negative, apart from the opposition parties’ parliamentary groups (SYRIZA, ANEL, KKE, DIMAR and Golden Dawn) were independent MPs Byron Polidoras, Vassilis Kapernaros, Petros Tatsopoulos, Mimis Androulakis, Niki Founta, Vassilis Oikonomou, Chrysoula Giatagana, Panagiotis Melas, Rachel Makri, Theodoros Parastratidis, Markos Bolaris, Theodora Tzakri and Giannis Kourakos, some of whom were expected to vote in favor of Dimas. Emerging from the Parliament after the procedure’s completion, Melas underlined that on the remaining two ballots, he might change his vote and vote “Yes.”

Absent on the first ballot was ANEL’s Kostas Giovanopoulos, whose absence is considered meaningful, as it might leave the possibility open to vote in favor of Dimas in the following ballots. Also absent were the two former Golden Dawn MPs, Stathis Boukouras and Chrysovalantis Alexopoulos, who were expected to vote “Yes,” independent MP Giorgos Kasapidis, who earlier today lost his father and was also expected to vote in favor of the new President, and SYRIZA MP Anna Chatzisofia.

To read more, please visit greekreporter.com

By Aggelos Skordas

Five MPs, including two former Golden Dawn deputies, were absent. Four of the absentees were independents, one from SYRIZA.

The next ballot will be held at noon on Tuesday. The threshold will be 200 votes again. It will fall to 180 for the final ballot on December 29.

To read more, please visit ekathimerini.com

The vote will take place this Wednesday, December 17, at 7 p.m. and so far only about 10 parliamentarians outside the coalition have said they will back the government's candidate, Stavros Dimas. This has led many government sources to suggest that 165 MPs will be a good starting point for this Wednesday' s vote, secretly hoping the support could get to 170.

The coalition needs a two-thirds supermajority majority – equivalent to 200 MPs out of the 300-member assembly – for its candidate, Stavros Dimas, to be elected in the first round. If it fails to do so, a second round will be held after five days, on December 23, also requiring 200 votes. A third and final round of voting will be held on December 29, but this time the required majority will drop to 180 lawmakers, which is the government's target.

If the presidential elections fails, the parliament has to be dissolved within ten days and a snap election will be held as early as 25 January or 1 February. So far opinion polls suggest the snap election would be won by main opposition party Syriza.

To read more, please visit thetoc.gr/eng

By Anna Zarifi

However, Samaras will now become involved in the process, either meeting or phoning MPs who the government believes might be prepared to vote for Dimas.

The coalition’s aim is to secure at least 165 votes in the first ballot on Wednesday and to then take stock of which lawmakers the coalition might be able to persuade to vote “yes” by the time the final round of voting comes around on December 29. The government needs 200 votes to elect a president in the first two ballots and 180 in the final one.

Realistically, this means that the coalition needs to garner support from roughly 15 of the independent MPs and about 10 deputies from Democratic Left and Independent Greeks. So far the number of lawmakers in this group who have clearly said they will back Dimas numbers around 10.

As the battle for MPs’ votes intensifies, the polarization between the two main parties – New Democracy and SYRIZA – also looks certain to grow. On Friday, however, it was comments from outside Greece that caused a stir. The controversy was caused when European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker clearly stated his preference for the current government remaining in power rather then being replace by SYRIZA.

To read more, please visit ekathimerini.com

The global media landscape changes with the debut of a website and community that offers a fresh, progressive perspective of Hellenism today. GreekTV creates a platform where Greeks and Philhellenes from around the world can present progressive viewpoints, positive efforts, and interesting subjects often ignored by traditional media. This active window into contemporary Greek reality and the world of Greek diaspora is without stereotypes and exclusions, offering the world a more nuanced perspective of modern Greek social, economic, political and cultural life.

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The area consists of the Acropolis and surrounding regions that include Pnyx Hill, the Ancient and Roman agorae, Hadrian’s Library and the nearby Kerameikos Cemetery. The area reached the EHL shortlist because it is believed to have played a crucial role in the European culture and identity.

The independent selection panel in charge of assessing the applications on the basis of the established criteria recommended the 16 sites for the Label, however the EC will reach its formal decision by mid-February 2015.

To read more, please visit en.protothema.gr