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Tsipras: Elections in October

Tsipras: Elections in October

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras insisted to journalists that the next national election will take place in October 2019.

“I am looking for a date” on that month, Tsipras told journalists on the occasion of a New Year's celebration at his official residence.

Greece will also go to the polls in May, for simultaneous local, regional and European elections and there has been speculation, although not on the government's part, that the national election could also take plce on the same date. October is the latest possible date to hold a national election.

Tsipras also said he has not decided whether to submit the name deal with the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) before March. He added that the protocol accepting FYROM as the latest NATO member will be signed a few days after the ratification of the deal “for technical reasons”.

Concerning the opposition of defense minister Panos Kammenos to the name deal, that will rename Greece's northern neighbor “North Macedonia”, Tsipras jokingly said that Kammenos is resigned to his fate.

Lastly, Tsipras said that his visit to Istanbul, scheduled for late January, could be slightly postponed, to early February.

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