2009 Greek legislative election

Last updated

2009 Greek legislative election
Flag of Greece.svg
  2007 4 October 2009 May 2012  

All 300 seats in the Hellenic Parliament
151 seats needed for a majority
Opinion polls
Registered9,929,065
Turnout70.95% (Decrease2.svg3.20pp)
 First partySecond partyThird party
  George Papandreou (junior).jpg Kostas Karamanlis 2009 (cropped).jpg Aleka Papariga 2009 (cropped).jpg
Leader George Papandreou Kostas Karamanlis Aleka Papariga
Party PASOK ND KKE
Last election38.10%, 102 seats41.87%, 152 seats8.15%, 22 seats
Seats won1609121
Seat changeIncrease2.svg58Decrease2.svg61Decrease2.svg1
Popular vote3,012,5422,295,719517,249
Percentage43.92%33.47%7.54%
SwingIncrease2.svg5.82 pp Decrease2.svg8.40 pp Decrease2.svg0.71 pp

 Fourth partyFifth party
  Georgios Karatzaferis 2011 (cropped).jpg Alexis Tsipras die 16 Ianuarii 2012.jpg
Leader Georgios Karatzaferis Alexis Tsipras
Party LAOS Syriza
Last election3.80%, 10 seats5.04%, 14 seats
Seats won1513
Seat changeIncrease2.svg5Decrease2.svg1
Popular vote386,205315,665
Percentage5.63%4.60%
SwingIncrease2.svg1.83 pp Decrease2.svg0.44 pp

2009 Greek legislative election - Vote Strength.svg
Results by electoral district

Prime Minister before election

Kostas Karamanlis
ND

Prime Minister after election

George Papandreou
PASOK

Early parliamentary elections were held in Greece on 4 October 2009. [1] Elections were not required until September 2011, but on 2 September 2009 Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis of New Democracy announced that he would request President Karolos Papoulias dissolve Parliament and call elections. [2] Parliament was dissolved on 9 September.

Contents

The result was a victory for the opposition PASOK party led by George Papandreou, who became the new Prime Minister. New Democracy lost 61 of its 152 seats, with its vote share dropping by over 8 percentage points.

Voting was mandatory; however there are no sanctions or penalties for not voting.

Participating parties

A total of 23 parties participated in the elections. Six of them participated in only one or two parliamentary constituencies.

Opinion polls

Local regression trend line of poll results from 16 September 2007 to 4 October 2009, with each line corresponding to a political party. OpinionPollingGreeceLegislativeElection2009.svg
Local regression trend line of poll results from 16 September 2007 to 4 October 2009, with each line corresponding to a political party.

Events before the election

Leaders of the (L to R) Ecologist Greens, Popular Orthodox Rally, Coalition of the Radical Left, Communist Party, PASOK, and New Democracy parties before a televised debate Greek parliamentary elections 2009 debate.jpg
Leaders of the (L to R) Ecologist Greens, Popular Orthodox Rally, Coalition of the Radical Left, Communist Party, PASOK, and New Democracy parties before a televised debate

Exit polls and projections

The initial results of the exit poll conducted jointly by pollsters Alco, GPO, MARC, Metron Analysis, MRB, Opinion, and RASS were made public at 7 PM Eastern European DST:

Joint exit pollOctober 4, 2009 ND PASOK KKE Syriza LAOS EcoGreens Others
Vote percentage7 PM34.3-37.341.0-44.07.3-8.33.9-4.95.0-6.02.0-3.0-
Seats in Parliament7 PM94-100151-15920-2211-1314-160-

The revised results of the exit poll conducted jointly by pollsters Alco, GPO, MARC, Metron Analysis, MRB, Opinion, and RASS were made public at 8:50 PM Eastern European DST. The margin of error claimed is less than 0.5%:

Joint exit pollOctober 4, 2009 ND PASOK KKE Syriza LAOS EcoGreens Others
Vote percentage8:50 PM33.943.87.64.55.62.5-
Seats in Parliament8:50 PM921602112150-

The statistical projections by Singular Logic and the Ministry of Interior, based on actual returns, were made public at 9 PM Eastern European DST. The margin of error claimed is 0.3%:

Statistical projectionOctober 4, 2009 ND PASOK KKE Syriza LAOS EcoGreens Others
Vote percentage9 PM33.843.87.64.55.62.52.2
Seats in Parliament9 PM921602112150-

Results

Results, showing the winning party in each municipal unit. 2009 Greek legislative election - Municipal Units.png
Results, showing the winning party in each municipal unit.
Greek legislative election 2009.svg
PartyVotes%+/–Seats+/–
PASOK 3,012,54243.92+5.82160+58
New Democracy 2,295,71933.47–8.3791–61
Communist Party of Greece 517,2497.54–0.6121–1
Popular Orthodox Rally 386,2055.63+1.8315+5
Syriza 315,6654.60–0.4413–1
Ecologist Greens 173,5892.53+1.4800
Democratic Revival 30,7840.45–0.3500
Antarsya 24,6870.36New0New
Greek Ecologists 19,9930.29+0.2700
Golden Dawn 19,6240.29New0New
Union of Centrists 18,2960.27–0.0200
Society – Political Party of the Successors of Kapodistrias 10,6900.16New0New
Communist Party of Greece (Marxist–Leninist) 10,4800.15–0.1000
Democrats 7,6000.11New0New
Marxist–Leninist Communist Party of Greece 5,2190.08–0.0300
Workers' Revolutionary Party 4,5370.07+0.0300
Organization for the Reconstruction of the Communist Party of Greece 1,6650.02–0.0100
Panagrarian Labour Movement of Greece1,3750.02New0New
Smoking Groups for Art and Artistic Creation1,3550.02New0New
Light – Truth – Justice8710.01±0.0000
Friends of Man40.00New0New
Regional Urban Development40.00±0.0000
Old Republic30.00New0New
Independents2650.00±0.0000
Total6,858,421100.003000
Valid votes6,858,42197.36
Invalid votes142,9162.03
Blank votes43,2690.61
Total votes7,044,606100.00
Registered voters/turnout9,929,06570.95
Source: Ministry of Interior

By region

RegionPASOK
(%)
ND
(%)
KKE
(%)
LAOS
(%)
SYRIZA
(%)
Achaea52.6528.996.603.643.89
Aetolia-Akarnania49.4535.736.233.032.82
Argolida42.2742.554.484.163.15
Arkadia46.4636.545.134.793.76
Arta45.1438.996.042.584.67
Athens A35.5231.759.557.597.98
Athens B40.2326.6210.847.287.40
Attica43.1229.468.238.234.94
Boeotia47.3531.087.306.173.90
Cephalonia41.8333.0412.254.673.73
Chalkidiki41.0240.475.005.474.05
Chania51.1129.735.983.644.37
Chios49.8133.945.383.553.37
Corfu43.3632.8311.963.544.29
Corinthia46.8036.034.005.283.77
Dodecanese54.9330.743.964.122.71
Drama41.6341.263.826.333.26
Elis54.6432.754.323.082.57
Euboea48.1931.086.726.013.90
Evros44.7440.333.765.922.09
Evrytania51.2037.563.242.972.27
Florina44.0241.634.623.542.95
Grevena46.9136.647.313.562.60
Imathia43.3137.016.916.163.16
Ioannina43.9436.127.513.504.90
Heraklion62.7423.704.442.103.71
Karditsa43.3139.837.504.022.88
Kastoria34.6050.034.004.463.76
Kavala42.4137.386.006.014.06
Kilkis40.8539.937.266.392.49
Kozani44.0839.715.763.663.29
Laconia36.4747.264.805.592.84
Larissa40.8136.189.465.693.98
Lasithi59.3727.513.472.193.84
Lefkada41.6637.0110.422.375.16
Lesvos42.1931.0614.104.034.43
Magnesia40.3935.558.795.824.66
Messenia39.0643.265.745.073.62
Kyklades44.8936.035.104.194.64
Pella43.0441.484.365.512.52
Phocis40.2239.736.925.243.58
Phthiotis43.8540.354.924.662.82
Pieria41.3742.275.295.342.81
Piraeus A38.8832.978.117.565.83
Piraeus B44.3423.0612.887.585.69
Preveza42.9838.898.043.093.88
Rethymno57.9127.413.753.103.90
Rhodope53.0834.522.483.614.27
Samos38.3429.7218.053.975.13
Serres37.1046.775.025.362.52
Thesprotia48.7536.614.603.063.47
Thessaloniki A39.1130.309.538.265.77
Thessaloniki B38.2337.627.577.484.08
Trikala45.1437.638.223.802.54
Xanthi58.7926.212.754.414.56
Zakynthos47.5529.7311.183.644.23

Post-election events

Former Prime Minister, Kostas Karamanlis and George Papandreou in the ceremony for the official handover at the Maximos Mansion. Prime Minister of Greece George Papandreou - ceremony for the official handover 2009Oct06.jpg
Former Prime Minister, Kostas Karamanlis and George Papandreou in the ceremony for the official handover at the Maximos Mansion.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andreas Papandreou</span> Greek economist and politician (1919–1996)

Andreas Georgiou Papandreou was a Greek economist, politician, and a dominant figure in Greek politics, known for founding the political party PASOK, which he led from 1974 to 1996. He served three terms as the 3rd and 8th prime minister of Greece.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Papandreou</span> Greek politician, president of the Socialist International

George Andreas Papandreou is an American-born Greek politician who served as Prime Minister of Greece from 2009 to 2011. He is currently serving as an MP for Movement for Change.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Costas Simitis</span> Prime Minister of Greece from 1996 to 2004

Constantine G. Simitis is a Greek retired politician who led the 'Modernization' movement of Greece. He succeeded in leadership Andreas Papandreou, the founder of the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK), and served as Prime Minister of Greece from 1996 to 2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PASOK</span> Greek political party

The Panhellenic Socialist Movement, known mostly by its acronym PASOK, is a social-democratic political party in Greece. Until 2012 it was one of the two major parties in the country, along with New Democracy, its main political rival. In the June 2023 Greek legislative election it once again held firm on to its position of one of the ”big three” political parties of Greece.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2004 Greek legislative election</span>

Parliamentary elections were held in Greece on 7 March 2004. The New Democracy Party of Kostas Karamanlis won the elections, ending eleven years of rule by PASOK. PASOK was led into the elections by George Papandreou, who succeeded retiring Prime Minister Costas Simitis as party leader in February.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kostas Karamanlis</span> Greek politician

Konstantinos A. Karamanlis, commonly known as Kostas Karamanlis, is a Greek retired politician who served as the 10th Prime Minister of Greece from 2004 to 2009. He was also president of the centre-right New Democracy party, founded by his uncle Konstantinos Karamanlis, from 1997 to 2009, and as member of the Hellenic Parliament from 1989 to 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Democracy (Greece)</span> Greek centre-right political party

New Democracy is a liberal-conservative political party in Greece. In contemporary Greek politics, New Democracy has been the main centre-right to right-wing political party and one of the two major parties along with its historic rival, the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK). New Democracy and PASOK were created in the wake of the toppling of the military junta in 1974, ruling Greece in succession for the next four decades. Following the electoral decline of PASOK, New Democracy remained one of the two major parties in Greece, the other being the Coalition of the Radical Left (SYRIZA). The party was founded in 1974 by Konstantinos Karamanlis and in the same year it formed the first cabinet of the Third Hellenic Republic. New Democracy is a member of the European People's Party, the largest European political party since 1999, the Centrist Democrat International, and the International Democracy Union.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Konstantinos Mitsotakis</span> Prime Minister of Greece from 1990 to 1993

Konstantinos Mitsotakis was a Greek politician who was Prime Minister of Greece from 1990 to 1993. He graduated in law and economics from the University of Athens. His son, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, was elected as the Prime Minister of Greece following the 2019 Greek legislative election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antonis Samaras</span> Prime Minister of Greece (2012–2015)

Antonis Samaras is a Greek politician who served as 14th Prime Minister of Greece from 2012 to 2015. A member of the New Democracy party, he was its president from 2009 until 2015. Samaras started his national political career as Minister of Finance in 1989; he served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1989 to 1992 and Minister of Culture in 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ioannis Alevras</span> Greek politician and President (1985-1985)

Ioannis Alevras, sometimes spelled Yannis Alevras, was a Greek Panhellenic Socialist Movement politician and Speaker of the Hellenic Parliament, who served as acting President of Greece in March 1985.

Parliamentary elections were held in Greece on 17 November 1974. They were the first after the end of the military junta of 1967–1974, and took place during the metapolitefsi era. The winner was Konstantinos Karamanlis and his newly formed conservative party, New Democracy. Karamanlis had already formed a government of national unity just after the fall of the dictatorship. The second-largest party was the centrist Center Union – New Forces. The third party in the Parliament became the newly-formed PASOK, a radical socialist party led by Andreas Papandreou, son of the former Prime Minister Georgios Papandreou.

Parliamentary elections were held in Greece on 20 November 1977. After Prime Minister Constantine Karamanlis called for early elections, his New Democracy party suffered a significant loss of power. However, Karamanlis managed to secure an absolute majority in the Parliament. The big surprise was the success of PASOK, whose socialistic rhetoric remained radical. Because of PASOK's success, the Centrists led again by Georgios Mavros) lost half of their power. As a result, Andreas Papandreou, PASOK's leader, became a prominent figure in Greek politics. The Communists and the Nationalists managed to amplify their support.

Parliamentary elections were held in Greece on Sunday, 18 October 1981. PASOK, led by Andreas Papandreou, faced New Democracy, led by Georgios Rallis. Papandreou achieved a landslide and PASOK formed the first socialist government in the history of Greece.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2007 Greek legislative election</span>

Parliamentary elections were held in Greece on Sunday, 16 September 2007 to elect the 300 members of the Hellenic Parliament. The leading party for a second term was New Democracy under the leadership of Kostas Karamanlis with 42%, followed by George Papandreou and PASOK with 38%. New Democracy managed to secure an absolute but narrow majority of 152 out of 300 seats in parliament. The populist Popular Orthodox Rally entered the parliament for the first time with 10 seats, while the parties of the left, the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) and Syriza, enjoyed a significant increase in their vote share. KKE received 8% of the votes and won 22 seats, while Syriza received 5% of the votes and 14 seats.

In early 2006, Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis of the New Democracy party proposed an amendment to the Greek Constitution of 1975/1986/2001 with 38 new provisions. Of these, 3 were adopted in May 2008:

A leadership election was held on November 11, 2007 in the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK), Greece's main centre-left party, after it was defeated in the parliamentary election earlier that year. The incumbent, George Papandreou, had stated right after the general elections that he would ask party members to renew their confidence in him, while Evangelos Venizelos and Kostas Skandalidis also declared themselves candidates.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2009 New Democracy leadership election</span>

The 2009 New Democracy leadership election was held on 29 November 2009, following the official announcement of the resignation of Kostas Karamanlis, after more than 12 years as leader of New Democracy, the main centre-right political party and one of the two major parties in Greece.

The Movement of Democratic Socialists is a political party in Greece established on 3 January 2015 by George Papandreou after splitting from the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK). The party officially uses To Kinima as the party's name abbreviation, although several media outlets and opinion pollsters have referred to it using the acronym KIDISO (ΚΙΔΗΣΟ).

The Socialism in Greece has a significant history, with various activists, politicians and political parties identifying as socialist. Socialist movements in Greece began to form around the early 20th century, including the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) (1920–present), the Socialist Party of Greece (1920-1953) and the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK). Socialist ideology is present within the political party Syriza which forms the current opposition in Greece, also known as the Coalition of the Radical Left.

References

  1. "Greeks to vote on 4 October". RFI. 2009-09-03. Retrieved 2009-09-05.
  2. "Greece's PM calls snap election". BBC.com. 2009-09-02. Retrieved 2009-09-05.
  3. Συστράτευση Οικολόγων Ελλάδος- ΛΑΟΣ (in Greek). ert.gr. 2009-09-11. Archived from the original on September 14, 2009. Retrieved 2009-09-17.
  4. Paul Anast (2009-10-05). "Greece's opposition Socialists resoundingly win snap election". London: telegraph.co.uk. paragraph 2. Retrieved 5 October 2009. I am beginning the procedures for an extraordinary congress to elect a new leader...
  5. ELENA BECATOROS. "Socialists trounce conservatives in Greek election". Yahoo! News. paragraph 2. Archived from the original on October 6, 2009. Retrieved 5 October 2009.
  6. ELENA BECATOROS. "Socialists trounce conservatives in Greek election". Yahoo! News. paragraph 2. Archived from the original on October 6, 2009. Retrieved 5 October 2009. Humbled by his New Democracy party's worst electoral performance ever
  7. Paul Anast (2009-10-05). "Greece's opposition Socialists resoundingly win snap election". London: telegraph.co.uk. paragraph 4. Retrieved 5 October 2009. The results were the worst for the governing conservative New Democracy party in 30 years.
  8. 1 2 "RFI - Socialists hail perfect storm of support, as Papandreou takes over". Rfi.fr. Retrieved 2012-05-13.
  9. "Greece's Socialists win snap poll". BBC News. 2009-10-05. Retrieved 2009-10-06.
  10. "Στον Πρόεδρο για την εντολή σχηματισμού κυβέρνησης ο Γ.Παπανδρέου - George Papandreou visits the President to receive a mandate to form a Cabinet" (in Greek). in.gr. Retrieved 5 October 2009.
  11. Smith, Helena (2009-10-06). "Papandreou looks to Greek diaspora as he forms new cabinet". Guardian. London. Retrieved 2009-10-06.

Further reading

See also