General Information
At Stake in this Election:
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All 300 seats of the Greek Parliament
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Chief of State: President Ekaterini SAKELLAROPOULOU (since 13 March 2020)
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Head of Government: Prime Minister Kyriakos MITSOTAKIS (since 8 July 2019)
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Assembly: unicameral Hellenic Parliament (Vouli ton Ellinon / Βουλή των Ελλήνων) with 300 seats
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The President is indirectly elected by the Hellenic Parliament and may serve up to two 5-year terms.
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The Prime Minister (the leader of the parliamentary majority party) is appointed by the president.
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In the Hellenic Parliament, members are directly elected via open party-list proportional representation vote: 285 from multi-seat constituencies and 15 from a single nationwide constituency. All members serve 4-year terms.
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Parties must receive at least 3% of the national vote to receive a seat.
In 2019, New Democracy won a slim majority of 158 seats followed by Syriza with 86 seats. Four other groups also won seats: the Movement for Change coalition (22), the Communist Party (15), Greek Solution (10), and MeRA25 (9). Voter turnout was 57%.
New/Unique in this Election:
A 2016 law removed the compensatory seat system—which had given 50 seats to the party with the most votes—and lowered the voting age to 17. These changes will come into effect for the first time during the 2023 parliamentary election. A 2019 law will also facilitate overseas voting while requiring party lists to reserve 20% of spots for diaspora candidates and to include at least one diaspora candidate among the top three spots.
Key Deadlines:
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Candidate filing deadline: 1 May 2023
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Voter registration deadline: N/A
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Voter registration is passive, and municipal governments update voter rolls every two months. Eligible voters can request registration changes during the public voter roll display period which occurs on the first through tenth day of the month after voter rolls are updated.
Main Candidates in this Election:
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New Democracy / Νέα Δημοκρατία (ND)
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Leader: Kyriakos MITSOTAKIS
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Seats won in last election: 158 out of 300
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Syriza / Συνασπισμός Ριζοσπαστικής Αριστεράς (SYRIZA)
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Leader: Alexis TSIPRAS
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Seats won in last election: 86 out of 300
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PASOK-Movement for Change / ΠΑΣΟΚ – Κίνημα Αλλαγής
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Leader: Nikos ANDROULAKIS
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Seats won in last election: 22 out of 300 (as part of the Movement for Change coalition)
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Communist Party of Greece / Κομμουνιστικό Κόμμα Ελλάδας (KKE)
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Leader: Dimitris KOUTSOUMPAS
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Seats won in last election: 15 out of 300
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Greek Solution / Ελληνική Λύση
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Leader: Kyriakos VELOPOULOS
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Seats won in last election: 10 out of 300
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MeRA25 / Μέτωπο Ευρωπαϊκής Ρεαλιστικής Ανυπακοής (ΜέΡΑ25)
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Leader: Yanis VAROUFAKIS
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Seats won in last election: 9 out of 300
Population and Registered Voters:
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Population: 10,497,595 (2023 est.)
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Registered Voters: 9,984,934 (2019)
Gender Data:
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Female Population: 5,355,916 (2023 est.)
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CEDAW Status: Signed 2 March 1982, Ratified 7 June 1983
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Gender Quota: Yes; Each sex must occupy at least one-third of the places on each party list.
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Female Candidates in this election: Yes
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Number of Female Legislators (pre-election): 63 out of 300 (21%) in the Hellenic Parliament
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Human Development Index (HDI) Position: 0.887, Very High, Rank 33 (2021 est.)
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Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: 19.4% (2023 est.)
Disability Data:
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CRPD Status: Signed 30 March 2007, Ratified 31 May 2012
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Projected population with a disability: 1,574,639 (2023 est.)
IFES Resources:
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Does IFES have a presence in Greece: No
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Election Access: Yes
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Election Judgements: Yes; 2 judgements and 24 resources