There will be a meeting on Friday of the organisational committee for main opposition New Democracy's Extraordinary Congress which will convene on November 7 to elect a new leader for the party. The organisational committee will meet at noon at ND headquarters and be chaired by Dimitris Sioufas.

   Meanwhile, ND Central Committee Secretary Lefteris Zagoritis in statements on Thursday said he was in favour of increasing the number of electors, saying that "the more people participate in the process for electing a leader, the better it will be".

   At the same time, he pointed out that any decision to change the way of electing the party leader can only be made or approved by the party conference.

   Two former high-profile ministers considered to be "in the running" for the post of ND's leadership, Dora Bakoyannis and Dimitris Avramopoulos, also voiced support for the election of the new president by the party rank and file on Thursday.

   Bakoyannis noted that, since 2000, she has been in favor of election of the party leader by the rank and file, but stressed that the party has a Charter and this could not be disregarded.

   However, she added, she would be in agreement with any proposal for broadening the electoral body.

   Former health minister Dimitris Avramopoulos also recalled an older proposal of his for election of the ND leader by the ND rank and file, speaking to reporters after a meeting with Karamanlis to discuss issues related to the upcoming Congress.

   The only candidate so far for ND's leadership, Thessaloniki Prefect Panagiotis Psomiadis, on Thursday appealed to Costas Karamanlis to remain president of the party.

   He stressed that he was not backing down from his bid to become ND leader on November 7 but noted that he was "in favour of a single candidacy that can keep the party united and rekindle our hopes".

   Psomiadis also called for the election of the new party president by all the party's members: " 
"I am very angry. It is time for the masks to fall. We must not go to a conference of simple succession but also be able to voice our criticism. It is imperative that we go to an open conference. It is not possible for the party's future to be determined by those members whose behaviour cast us into the nets of PASOK," he said.

   Caption: ANA-MPA file photo of main opposition New Democracy headquarters in Athens