Credit:Flag courtesy of ITA's Flags of All Countries used with permission.

Election Date: March 7, 2004

At stake: Parliament

Background

On Jan. 7, Greek prime minister Kostas Simitis called for legislative elections on Mar. 7, almost two months ahead of schedule. The 67-year-old head of the Pan-Hellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) has administered the country since January 1996, but vowed to step down after the parliamentary ballot.

Current foreign minister George Papandreou—whose father and grandfather served as prime ministers in the 20th Century—was chosen as PASOK's new leader on Feb. 8.

PASOK trailed the opposition New Democracy (ND) in most voting intention polls. Kostas Karamanlis, the nephew of former prime minister and president Konstantin, leads the conservative organization. ND formed the government from 1991 to 1993 under Konstantinos Mitzotakis.

Prime minister Simitis cited the developments in Cyprus as one of the key reasons to hold an early vote. Elections in the Turkish side of the island held in December 2003 resulted in a tie between pro-unification and nationalist factions.

On Feb. 11, the Greek parliament was officially dissolved to make way for the campaign period. Both parties made tax cuts a key issue in their respective platforms.

On Feb. 27, the leaders of five political parties—Papandreou, Karamanlis, Aleka Papariga of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE), Nikos Constandopoulos of the Coalition of the Left and Progress (SIN) and Dimitris Tsovolas of the Democratic Social Movement (DIKKI)—participated in a televised debate.

The discussion was divided in five core themes: social policy, national issues, the economy, public administration, and education. Papandreou expressed his desire to implement a more comprehensive healthcare system, and his intention to assist in a peaceful solution to the dispute in Cyprus. Karamanlis argued for a better approach to fight rising unemployment, and urged for a crackdown on corruption.

Polls conducted throughout January and February by Metron Analysis, VPRC, MRB and Opinion gave the New Democrats a single-digit lead in voting intention against the Socialists, despite the fact that Papandreou was the preferred choice for prime minister in every survey.

Voting went on without major incidents on Mar. 7. After several exit polls showed the ND with a sizeable advantage, PASOK leader Papandreou conceded defeat. Final results gave the New Democrats 165 lawmakers in the Greek Parliament, a 40-seat improvement from the 2000 election. PASOK dropped from 158 to 117 members.

On Mar. 10, Karamanlis officially became—at the age of 48—the youngest prime minister in Greek history.

In December, Karamanlis tabled long-time socialist Karolos Papoulias as the ND candidate for the presidential election. Papoulias served as foreign minister during two different PASOK administrations in the 1980s and 1990s.

On Feb. 8, 2005, the Parliament elected Papoulias as president. The new head of state was sworn in on Mar. 12.

Political Players

President: Karolos Papoulias
Prime minister: Kostas Karamanlis - ND

The president is elected to a five-year term by parliament.

Legislative Branch: The Vouli ton Ellinon (Greek Parliament) has 300 members, elected to four-year terms through "reinforced proportional representation" in 51 multi-seat constituencies and five single-seat constituencies.

Results of Last Election:

Parliament - Mar. 7, 2004

Archive Search

Search the Angus Reid Global Monitor Election Tracker archive.