GREECE
Parliamentary Chamber: Vouli Ton Ellinon

ELECTIONS HELD IN 1989

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Chamber:
  Vouli Ton Ellinon


Dates of elections / renewal (from/to):

  18 June 1989


Purpose of elections:

  Elections were held for all the seats in Parliament on the normal expiry of the members' term of office.


Background and outcome of elections:

  The 1989 general elections were held concurrently with voting for Greek representatives to the European Parliament.

Some 3,000 candidates and 25 parties contested the parliamentary seats. Leading groups were, once again, the ruling Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) of Prime Minister (since 1981) Andreas Papandreou and the conservative New Democracy Party (ND), headed by Mr. Constantine Mitsotakis, as well as the newly-formed Coalition of Left-Wing and Progressive Forces, which included the Communist Party of Greece. Arms and financial scandals which had hurt PASOK were at the forefront of the opposition campaign debate. Moreover, to counter economic problems, ND favoured more free enterprise, promising higher wages and more jobs.

Polling day proved inconclusive as, under the new Electoral Law, neither major party won enough popular votes to obtain an absolute majority (151 seats) in the Chamber of Deputies. The leftist coalition thus became a pivotal swing group solicited by both ND and PASOK. After two weeks of bargaining, ND, the largest group with 145 seats, ultimately struck an extraordinary deal with the coalition.

As a result, an interim Government headed by Mr. Tzannis Tzannetakis, a conservative backbencher, was sworn in on 2 July. Of the 23 Ministers, all but two were from ND.

STATISTICS
Round no 1 (18 June 1989): Elections results  
Number of registered electors 8,302,412
Voters 6,669,228 (80.32%)
Blank or invalid ballot papers 148,017
Valid votes 6,521,211

Round no 1: Distribution of votes  
Political Group Votes %
New Democracy Party (ND) 2,887,448 44.28
Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) 2,551,518 39.13
Coalition of Left-Wing and Progressive Forces 885,944 13.12
Democratic Renewal (DIANA) 65,614 1.01
Independents 130,687 2.46

Round no 1: Distribution of seats  
Political Group Total Gain/Loss
New Democracy Party (ND) 145 +34
Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) 125 -29
Coalition of Left-Wing and Progressive Forces 28 +19
Democratic Renewal (DIANA) 1 -7
Independents 1 -17

Distribution of seats according to sex:  
Men: 287
Women: 13

Distribution of seats according to age:  
30-40 years 46
41-50 years 93
51-60 years 102
Over 60 years 59


Distribution of seats according to profession:

 
Lawyers 126
Doctors 41
Engineers – architects 31
Teachers 20
Economists 16
Journalists 13
Military 10
Others 43


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Copyright © 1989 Inter-Parliamentary Union