| Parliament name (generic / translated) |
Vouli Ton Ellinon / Hellenic Parliament |
| Structure of parliament |
Unicameral |
| BACKGROUND |
| Dates of election / renewal (from/to) |
4 October 2009 |
| Purpose of elections |
Elections were held for all the seats in Parliament following the premature dissolution of this body on 7 September 2009. General elections had previously been held in September 2007. |
On 3 September 2009
Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis asked President Karolos Papoulias to dissolve Parliament with a view to holding early elections
arguing that he needed a new mandate to help steer the country out of the economic crisis. On 7 September
President Papoulias dissolved Parliament and called elections for 4 October
nearly two years before they were constitutionally due.
In the previous elections held in September 2007
Prime Minister Karamanlis' New Democracy Party (ND) took 152 of the 300 seats. The Pan-Hellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) took 102 seats. The Communist Party (KKE)
Coalition of the Radical Left (Sy.Riz.A) and the People's Orthodox Alarm (La.O.S) took 22
14 and 10 seats respectively. Mr. Karamanlis
who had been Prime Minister since March 2004
subsequently formed a new government.
The 2009 elections were held against the backdrop of the global economic crisis. The unemployment rate reached 8.5 per cent in May 2009. The government provided 28 billion euros in bailout packages to banks and privatized several public-sector companies in a bid to boost investment and create jobs. The country's public debt is expected to exceed 100 per cent of GDP in 2009. The budget deficit is expected to rise to 6.2 per cent of GDP in 2009 and 7.3 per cent in 2010. The European Union (EU) has set 2010 as the deadline for Greece to reduce its budget deficit.
The ND was reportedly troubled by financial scandals involving some of its members. Two ministers resigned in connection with an exchange of land between the State and the Orthodox monastery on Mount Athos in which the State reportedly lost 100 million euros. Prime Minister Karamanlis was criticized for his handling of the fires that came close to Athens in August 2009.
The 2009 elections once again saw a duel between the ND and the PASOK. The latter was again led by Mr. George Papandreou
whose father (Andreas) and grand-father (George) had also served as prime ministers. The Papandreou and Karamanlis families have been major players in the country's politics since democracy was established in Greece in 1955. Outgoing Prime Minister Karamanlis is the nephew of Mr. Konstantin Karamanlis
a former president who served between 1980 and 1995.
Both the ND and the PASOK underscored the need to tackle the economic crisis
albeit with different approaches.
Prime Minister Karamanlis promised to reduce State spending by 30 per cent over the next two years. He pledged to freeze salaries
pensions and public-sector hiring in 2010 and accelerate privatizations.
The PASOK
meanwhile
pledged to boost the economy by spending at least 5 per cent of GDP on public investment each year and increasing public sector salaries
unemployment benefits and retirement pensions. It pledged to renegotiate past privatizations and discontinue ongoing privatization plans. The PASOK also promised to reduce taxes for persons earning less than 30
000 euros per year while re-establishing wealth and inheritance taxes. Mr. Papandreou said that he would negotiate with the EU to extend the deadline for reducing the budget deficit by three years.
The two parties also differed on immigration policy. The ND pledged to impose longer detention periods on illegal immigrants. The PASOK promised to grant citizenship to all immigrant children born in Greece and local voting rights to immigrants who have legally lived in the country for more than five years.
Although voting is compulsory
only 70.92 per cent of the 9.9 million registered voters turned out at the polls
down from 74.14 per cent in 2007.
The final results gave a resounding victory to the PASOK
which took 160 seats. The ND followed with 91 seats
losing 61. The KKE
the La.OS and the Sy.Riz.A took 21
15 and 13 seats respectively. Mr. Karamanlis announced that he would step down as the leader of the ND.
On 14 October
the newly elected Parliament held its first session. The following day
it elected Mr. Philippos Petsalnikos (PASOK) as its new Speaker.
In the meantime
on 5 October
President Papoulias invited Mr. Papandreou (PASOK) to form a new government. Mr. Papandreou's government was sworn in on 7 October. |
| STATISTICS |
| Voter turnout |
| Round no 1 | 4 October 2009 |
Number of registered electors
Voters
Blank or invalid ballot papers
Valid votes |
9'933'385
7'044'479 (70.92%)
186'137
6'858'342 |
|
Notes
|
|
| Distribution of seats |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Total
|
|
|
|
|
| Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) |
160
|
|
|
|
|
| New Democracy (ND) |
91
|
|
|
|
|
| Communist Party (KKE) |
21
|
|
|
|
|
| La.O.S |
15
|
|
|
|
|
| Coalition of the Radical Left (Sy.Riz.A) |
13
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to sex |
Men
Women
Percent of women |
248
52
17.33%
|
| Distribution of seats according to age |
31 to 40 years
41 to 50 years
51 to 60 years
61 to 70 years
Over 70 years
Unknown
|
21
65
123
54
7
30
|
| Distribution of seats according to profession |
|
|
| Comments |
Sources:
- Hellenic Parliament (07.10.2009
16.10.2009
28.03.2011
11.01.2012)
- http://www.ekloges.ypes.gr |
Compare data for parliamentary chambers in the Last elections module
