ROYALISTS LEAD IN EARLY GREEK RETURNS

Northern Advocate, 1 April 1946, Page 5

ROYALISTS LEAD IN EARLY GREEK RETURNS

(Received 2 p.m.)

LONDON. March 31.

THE first 14 election results from Athens show tne Royalist Populists have a bare lead over a combination of Liberals and National Unionists.

Although it cannot be regarded as an indication of the final result, observers are surprised, as the Populists were expected to sweep the voting in Athens and Piraeus, which was heavier than expected, only 30 per cent, abstaining. Polling was very heavy in the Royalists’ stronghold of Pelopennesus, moderate in Salonika, where EAM is fairly strong, and low in the Lami district, which was the ELAS fortress area during the civil war.

The Ministry of Public Order announced that two persons were killed in a clash between supporters of the Right, and Left at Meligala.

j The former Foreign Minister <M. j Soliancpoulost, who earlier addressed : the crowd in Omonia Square, said:

The notorious outlaw. Manganas, leader ol a Royalist organisation, is reported to have appeared at the head of 25 men. seized corpses from the police, and carried them off to the lulls.

| "We faced Germany and Italy and will j put oul our chests to defend the j sovereignty of our country. We are l not afraid of Mr Bovin's guns.'' COMMUNIST BOYCOTT It was clear that whatever happened

The Associated Press correspondent ; says the incident gives some indication | of the conditions under which the | elections are being held, at least in the j Peloponnesus. Other correspondents. \ however, are unanimous that the J amount of terrorism prevailing has been exaggerated. SEVERAL CLASHES At Salonika, the Ministry of Public Order announced, six policemen are believed to be'-buried under the debris i of the police station at Lithohoro, m addition to 10 known to be killed and four others wounded.

hi Greece the Communists intended to boycott and upset the elections, said the Foreign Secretary (Mr Ernest Bevin) in a speech at Bristol. Greece was in a very difficult position. lying as she did between two great allies with different viewpoints, added Mr Bevin. As a result she was subjected to external propaganda. Mr Bevin related how he consulted the Cabinet when asked for advice whether the elections should be postponed. He said the Cabinet unanimously agreed that they must be held as planned, otherwise the whole situation in Greece would deteriorate.

Folice reinforcements arc pursuing the attackers in a wooded area at the foot of Mt Olympus. J VOTING UNDER SUSPICION The chief doubt in tlie minds of independent observers about the fair- j ness of the Greek elections concerns ! tlie voting, says Reuter's Athens cor- ■ respondent.

It was decided at the last moment not ! to use an indelible stain to prevent voters from voting more than once, j The Daily Mail correspondent, how- ; ever, says most will be satisfied that the stamping and signing of each vot- j er’s book was an adequate safeguard. I The correspondents, who visited sev- ; eral polling booths, were satisfied with j the procedure. The voter's identity ! card was first checked, then his name • was checked in a register.

The voting book was stamped and signed, and Die voter then took all the ballot papers behind a curtain and selected the one he wanted, sealed it in an envelope, and dropped it into a sealed bo*

CAUGHT BOTH WAYS The dilemma of come voters, however, was shown by a manual worker at Piraeus, who said he had two pai Ltime jobs, and would undoubtedly lose one of them tomorrow. Both, his employers had demanded to see his voting book after the poll. One threatened to sack him if it was marked as having voted, while the other threatened to do so if he did not vote. The Allied mission which observed the election announced that its report will not be completed until April 10. when il will be cabled to London. Paris and Washington for simultaneous release. "The judgment of the mission whether the elections are fair and free can only be reached after reports are received from observer teams througnout Greece. Any conjecture by the mission before complete information is available would be premature.''

VOTING IN DARK Greece's general election passed off in a calm which was almost an anticlimax. report correspondents from Athen=

Polling, due to end at sunset, was prolonged for three hours throughout the country by the Minister of the Interior. The reason given was "a last-minute influx of voters.” but tiic Associated Press suggests it was because of the large numbers of voters afraid of reprisals if they were seen voting in the daytime.

First reports coming in from various parts of Greece have indicated that the Left Wing appeal to boycott the election has not met widespread success. 3200 POLLING STATIONS Voting in the Greek elections has been progressing since dawn at. 3200 polling stations on the mainland and outlying islands. The situation generally is calm, although five persons were arrested in an Athens suburb this morning, charged with attempting to prevent voters from entering the booths. Members of the Left Wing organisations stood outside the booths in other areas and watched voters entering. but did not attempt to interfere with them.

More than 50 per cent of the regiS' tered electors had voted in the middle class districts before mid-day.

The percentage was lower in the poorer districts. Only one-tenth of the electorate voted before noon in one suburb, which is reputedly a Communist stronghold. TROUBLE AT SALONIKA

The Premier (M. Sofoulis) was barred from voting in Athens because he failed to get a voter's booklet. The official Greeek report states that six policemen and four Greek army sergeants were killed and others wounded. when 109 Communists, equipped with mortars and small arms, last night attacked and burned down the police station at Litohoro. a village south of Salonika. Greek army reinforcements were rushed from Salonika . TROOPS STAND BY

One hundred thousand Greek troops and 20.000 rural gendarmes are standing by throughout Greece to ensure order for the general elections. All British troops have been ordered to remain in their quarters, but in certain areas "flag marches" may be made to discourage would-be trouble-makers All the Greek armed forces, police and gendarmeries are under the orders of specially appointed military advisers until a week after the elections.

Noisy demonstrations by the parties boycotting the elections marked the closing stages of the campaign in Athens yesterday. Fifteen civilians and four policemen were injured in a 15-minute clash between police and demonstrators in Omonia Square, scene of bitter fighting during the civil war in December, 1944. The police said they were attacked with clubs and stones. The crowd dispersed,when tho police fired into the air.