At stake in this election:

• 288 seats in the Parliament (Vouli ton Ellinon)

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Karolos PAPOULIAS
• Head of Government: Prime Minister Konstandinos (Kostas) KARAMANLIS
• Assembly: Greece has a unicameral Parliament (Vouli ton Ellinon) with 300 seats.

Description of electoral system:

• The President is elected by parliament to serve a 5-year term.
• The Prime Minister is appointed by the president.
• In the Parliament (Vouli ton Ellinon) 288 members are elected through an open-list proportional representation system to serve 4-year terms.***

*** There is a national threshold of 3 percent. The party or apparentement winning a plurality of votes automatically is awarded 40 seats, and the remaining seats are allocated proportionally among all parties clearing the threshold. The 288 regular seats are divided among 56 constituencies: 48 multi-member and 8 single-member. In single-member districts, elections are effectively by plurality. The 12 State Deputy seats are allocated proportionally from closed lists in a nationwide district. Voters cast ballots only for the regular seats.

Main parties in the electoral race:

• Party: New Democracy (ND)
  • Leader: Konstandinos KARAMANLIS
  • Seats won in this election: 152
  • Seats won in last election: 165
• Party: Pan Hellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK)
  • Leader: Yiorgos PAPANDREOU
  • Seats won in this election: 102
  • Seats won in last election: 117
• Party: Communist Party of Greece (KKE)
  • Leader: Aleka PAPARIGA
  • Seats won in this election: 22
  • Seats won in last election: 12
• Party: Coalition of the Left
  • Leader: Alekos ALAVANOS
  • Seats won in this election: 14
  • Seats won in last election: 6
• Party: Popular Orthodox Rally (LAOS)
  • Leader: Yeoryios KARATZAFERIS
  • Seats won in this election: 10
  • Seats won in last election: 0

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 11,048,473 (2007)
• Registered Voters: 9,921,545 (September 2007)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 5,616,915 (2007)

·         Is Greece a signatory to CEDAW: Yes (2 March 1982)

·         Has Greece ratified CEDAW: Yes (7 June 1983)

·         Gender Quota: Yes

·         Female candidates in this election: Yes

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 48 (following the 2007 elections)

·         Human Development Index Position: 29 (2014)

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: N/A

Disability Data:

·         Is Greece a signatory to CRPD: Yes (30 March 2007)

·         Has Greece ratified CRPD: Yes (31 May 2012)

·         Population with a disability: 1,657,270 (est.)