At stake in this election:

• 300 seats in the Parliament (Vouli ton Ellinon)

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Karolos PAPOULIAS
• Head of Government: Prime Minister Panagiotis PIKRAMENOS
• 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), 250 members are elected through an open-list proportional representation system to serve 4-year terms and 50 members are allocated for the party that wins a plurality of votes. 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 50 seats (up from 40 during the last election), and the remaining seats are allocated proportionally among all parties clearing the threshold. The 250 regular seats are divided among 56 constituencies: 48 multi-member and 8 single-member.

Main parties in the electoral race:

• Party: New Democracy (ND) / Νέα Δημοκρατία, Néa Dimokratía (ΝΔ)
  • Leader: Antonis SAMARAS
  • Seats won in last election: 108
• Coalition: Syriza Unionist Social Front (SYRIZA) / Συνασπισμός Ριζοσπαστικής Αριστεράς, Synaspismós Rizospastikís Aristerás (ΣΥΡΙΖΑ , SYRIZA)
  • Leader: Alexis TSIPRAS
  • Seats won in last election: 52
• Party: Pan Hellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) / Πανελλήνιο Σοσιαλιστικό Κίνημα (ΠΑΣΟΚ)
  • Leader: Evangelos VENIZELOS
  • Seats won in last election: 41
• Party: Communist Party of Greece / Κομμουνιστικό Κόμμα Ελλάδας, Kommounistikó Kómma Elládas (KKE)
  • Leader: Aleka PAPARIGA
  • Seats won in last election: 26
• Party: Democratic Left / Δημοκρατική Αριστερά, Dimokratiki Aristera (DIMAR, ΔΗΜ.ΑΡ)
  • Leader: Fotis KOUVELIS
  • Seats won in last election: 19
• Party: Golden Dawn / Χρυσή Αυγή, Chrysi Avg (XA)
  • Leader: Nikolaos MICHALOLIAKOS
  • Seats won in last election: 21
• Party: Independent Greeks / Ανεξάρτητοι Έλληνες, Anexartitoi Ellines (ANEL)
  • Leader: Panos KAMMENOS
  • Seats won in last election: 33

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 11,045,011 (2012)
• Registered Voters: 9,947,876 (June 2012)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 5,638,195 (2012)

·         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: 63 (following the 2012 elections)

·         Human Development Index Position: 29

·         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: 1,656,751 (est.)