Eleven out of 13 regional government entities in Greece on Sunday have been won by candidates backed or affiliated with main opposition New Democracy (ND) party, painting the "political map" blue on Sunday evening, after precincts closed and the first results were announced.
Hard left SYRIZA is judged to have only picked up Crete, which in the first round when to a candidate emanating from once formidable PASOK party, whose stronghold is the large island.
SYRIZA also foundered in muncipal elections, with ND's candidate outpacing the ruling party's candidate by a 2-to-1 ratio. The same was true for the Attica (greater Athens area) regional government entity.
The voter turnout in Sunday's second round reached only 40 percent of eligible voters.
