Greece

On 21 May, legislative elections were held in Greece. The results are as follows:

Electoral results

New Democracy: 2,407,750 votes, 40.79%
Syriza: 1,184,621 votes, 20.07%
PASOK – Movement for Change: 676,165 votes, 11.46%
Communist Party of Greece: 426,628 votes, 7.23%
Greek Solution: 262,498 votes, 4.45%
Victory: 172,260 votes, 2.92%
Course of Freedom: 170,424 votes, 2.89%
MERA25: 155,107 votes, 2.63%
Source: Ministry of Interior

About the electoral system

The electoral law that governed the 2023 elections was approved in 2016 by the coalition government of SYRIZA-ANEL. According to the Constitution, changes to the electoral law become effective from the second election following their passage. The law enacted by SYRIZA-ANEL in 2016 established a fully proportional system with a minimum electoral threshold of 3%. It eliminated the 50-seat majority bonus, which had been in place since 1990. In January 2020, shortly after regaining power, New Democracy, which has consistently supported majority bonuses since 1974, passed a new electoral law to reintroduce the bonus, albeit with a different formula. The political party that comes in first would receive an additional 20 seats (reduced from 50), while the total number of seats would increase from 250 to 280. A new sliding scale was introduced, disproportionately benefiting larger party lists: those receiving between 25% and 40% of the vote would receive one seat for every half percentage point within this range (up to 30 seats), before the proportional distribution of seats begins. The winning party could be awarded up to 50 extra seats. This law came into effect from 2020.
Source: eKathimerini

It is estimated that based on the result of the May 21 elections, it will not be possible to form a government. Therefore, based on all indications, a new election will be held on June 25, 2023.

Selected articles

Greek election: Centre-right Mitsotakis hails big win but wants majority, 22 May, (BBC)

Greece’s ruling conservatives win elections but fail to secure outright majority, 22 May, (CNN)

Greek centre-right party falls short of majority in general election, 21 May, (The Guardian)