PASOK’s congress concluded on Sunday with a number of new faces being elected to the party’s central political committee and signs that a core group was forming around a prominent member of the party’s youth wing.

A total of 3,525 delegates elected on Sunday 130 committee members, with Nikos Androulakis of PASOK’s youth wing coming first with 1,158 votes.

It was notable that nine of the 10 first places in terms of votes gathered were taken up by Androulakis, already a member of the party’s political secretariat, and the team that formed around him. Of PASOK’s old guard, only ex-minister Dimitris Reppas was able to break into the top 10.

PASOK leader Evangelos Venizelos hailed the outcome as a sign that the party is going through a phase of renewal.

“This is a strong message of renewal, a very positive sign for the future prospects of PASOK, the center left and the country’s political life,” said Venizelos.

Androulakis has been one of PASOK’s rising stars, joining the party’s student wing in 1997. In 2007, he was elected the representative of the party’s youth wing. The civil engineer caused a stir in 2008 when he was elected to PASOK’s political council with the second highest number of votes.

Despite the success of Androulakis, who hails from Iraklio on Crete, most commentators believe that Venizelos emerged from the congress slightly strengthened after a turbulent few months for his party and leadership.

PASOK’s new central committee is expected to meet for the first time later this week.