Greek legislative election, June 2012

• KKE: 12
• SYRIZA: 71
• DIMAR: 17
• PASOK: 33
• ND: 129
• Anel: 20
• XA: 18

The parliamentary elections in Greece in June 2012 took place on 17 May 2012, just six weeks after the election of 6 May 2012, which had provided no working majority. As the largest party, the conservative New Democracy ( ND) went by a narrow margin against the left-wing socialist SYRIZA from the selection shown.

After the ND could agree on forming a government with the Socialist PASOK and the Democratic Left ( DIMAR ), Andonis Samaras was, Chairman of New Democracy, sworn in on 20 June 2012 as the Greek Prime Minister.

Prehistory

The early elections of 6 May 2012 a series of shocks of Greece by the Greek financial crisis, the political landscape of Greece changed greatly: from disappointment and bitterness over the austerity and the recession many voters turned away from the two parties once great from ( New Democracy and PASOK took turns since the end of the Greek military dictatorship in July 1974 in the government of the country and most recently supported the transitional government of Loukas Papademos ). The two parties lost votes so strong that they could no longer form a majority government together. SYRIZA, a coalition of radical leftist, was surprisingly the second largest party. Also for the first time drew the neo-Nazi and racist Golden Dawn in parliament; Moreover, the right-wing populist Anexartiti Ellines and the left Dimokratiki Aristera.

These majorities did not succeed in forming a government. The chairman successively entrusted with the formation of a government of the three largest parties gave their job back once each.

The attempt by President Karolos Papoulias, to bring them together in a government with sufficient majority failed. Ultimately relevant for the failure was the refusal of SYRIZA, to participate in a continuing coalition 's austerity program. The SYRIZA chairman Alexis Tsipras explained, had the Greek people, the agreements with the EU, IMF and ECB over a haircut because of the EU decisions of 26 October 2011 and the conditions in which austerity and reform measures had been accepted as a condition for grants, declared null and void.

After 15 May 2012, all attempts to form a government that had failed, the President had to appoint one of the chief judge as interim prime minister, dissolve parliament and call an election pursuant to Article 37 of the Constitution of Greece. Papoulias therefore appointed on 16 May 2012 ( ΦΕΚ A 121 /2012) Panagiotis Pikrammenos to the Prime Minister; with Decree of 19 May 2012 ( ΦΕΚ A 125 /2012), he dissolved parliament just elected and decided elections on 17 June 2012.

Influence exercised

Before the election, many foreign European leaders have warned that a termination of the agreements with the EU, ECB and IMF, as it announced especially the Left party SYRIZA the event of her election victory, put the fate of the country in the euro zone in question. The leader of SYRIZA, Alexis Tsipras, it rejected as interference experiment.

Opinion polls before the election

According to polls, the Left party SYRIZA had views on further increase in votes. Some of them lay in the polls before the New Democracy; Fluctuations in the opinion or the voting intentions of the electorate were recognizable:

In a survey conducted on 12 May 2012, 78 percent of respondents were in favor of a stay in the euro zone.

Electoral system

Were elected 300 deputies.

The election was conducted in a substantially influenced by the proportional representation electoral system. 288 of the 300 seats were elected in 56 constituencies, the per constituency assigned number of seats depending on the population in the various constituencies was different; thus accounted for the largest constituency Athens -B with 1.4 million eligible voters 42 seats. He was elected from party lists. The voters could mark their preferred candidate within the constituency list of their chosen party. In eight small constituencies a mandate was only ever awarded; this was the candidate with the most votes, so the election system also contained elements of majority voting. Twelve seats were awarded on the basis of a nationwide list for pure proportional representation.

A party had to overcome a hurdle due to a blocking clause from 3 percent in order to enter Parliament can.

The distribution of seats was made in such a way that the party, which received the most votes, received 50 seats as a bonus. Coalitions had practically no chance of this bonus, as their share of the vote for the determination of the strongest party by the number of them together in parties was divided. The remaining seats were distributed proportionally among all parties that overcame the electoral threshold of 3 percent. This larger parties were preferred, and the formation of government capable majorities was favored.

Entitled to vote all Greek citizens were over the age of 18 years, a total of 9.85 million voters. In Greece there was elective; the violation of which was nevertheless not sanctioned. The proportion of non-voters, who had already risen in previous elections, rose again - to 37.5 %.

The newly elected Parliament held 28 June 2012 together (11 clock time).

Parties

Has been marked by disillusionment with the established parties and protest against the austerity election on May 6, 2012 had led to an extensive fragmentation of the political landscape. A total of 19 % of the votes attributable to parties that failed due to the three- percent hurdle.

Prior to the election on 17 June 2012, therefore, showed ambitions to join the electoral potential. Examples:

• The conservative-liberal Dimokratiki Symmachia of Dora Bakogianni supported the New Democracy.
• The two failed on the three- percent hurdle liberal small parties Dimourgia Xana and Drasi came together to form an electoral alliance.
• The cinema Niki Symfonia of Louka Katseli supported, however SYRIZA.

The leftist coalition SYRIZA, formerly an electoral alliance, founded as a party newly in order to benefit from the 50 -seat bonus in the event of an election victory can.

The Supreme Court had allowed the election 21 parties and coalitions, as well as a single list of candidates:

Ανεξάρτητη Ανανεωτική Αριστερά, Ανανεωτική Δεξιά, Ανανεωτικό ΠΑΣΟΚ, Ανανεωτική Νέα Δημοκρατία, Όχι στον Πόλεμο, Κόμμα Επιχείρηση Χαρίζω Οικόπεδα, Χαρίζω Χρέη, Σώζω Ζωές, Παναγροτικό Εργατικό Κίνημα Ελλάδος ( ΠΑΕΚΕ ) Independent Left Renewed, Renewed rights, Renewed PASOK, New Democracy Renewed, no to war, party companies I give away land, I give away debt, I save lives, Agricultural labor movement

Election result

• New Democracy
• SYRIZA - Enotiko cinema Niko Metopo