ATHENS – On May 21 this year, Greece will have the 20th round of general elections since democracy was restored in 1974 and the 67th general elections since the modern Greek state was founded. They will be held using a system of simple proportional representation voted for in 2016, with parties that get at least 3 pct of the vote sharing 285 parliamentary seats according to their share of the vote. Twelve of the remaining seats will be divided among the state deputies elected by each party, while the last three will be filled by the candidates elected by Greeks voting abroad.

If none of the parties is able to form a government following the May 21 elections, Greece will have a second general election on July 2 using a system of enhanced proportional representation that was voted on in 2020. Under this system, the first party will get a 20-seat bonus if it receives more than 25 pct of the vote and this bonus will rise in step with the party’s percentage of the vote, reaching a maximum of 50 bonus seats for parties that get 40 pct.

There are currently 9,810,040 registered voters (4,760,042 men and 5,049,998 women), including 438,595 young people aged 17 to 21 who can vote for the first time. Voters can find out where they are registered to vote using the following platform: https://www.ypes.gr/mathe-poy-psifizeis-forma/

Greeks Abroad

These will be the first elections in which Greeks living abroad can exercise their right to vote from their place of residence, provided they meet the criteria set out in the relevant legislation. The 22,816 expatriates whose applications to vote abroad were approved will vote on May 20, in 99 polling stations set up in 35 countries. These include Egypt (Cairo), Australia (Melbourne and Sydney), Austria (Vienna, Salzburg), Belgium (Brussels, Antwerp), Bulgaria (Sofia), France (Paris, Strasbourg, Nice, Nantes), Germany (Hamburg, Berlin, Munich, Stuttgart, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Dresden, Hanover, Nuremberg, Aachen, Wuppertal, Cologne, Bielefeld, Dortmund, Ludwigshafen), Denmark (Copenhagen), Switzerland (Berne, Geneva, Lausanne), United Arab Emirates (Abu Dhabi), United Kingdom (London, Glasgow, Birmingham, Leeds, Edinburgh), United States (San Francisco, Atlanta, Boston, Los Angeles, New York, Washington, Chicago, Tampa), Ireland (Dublin), Spain (Madrid, Barcelona), Italy (Rome, Milan, Venice), Canada (Montreal, Toronto), Qatar (Doha), S. Korea (Seoul), Cyprus (Nicosia, Larnaca, Limassol, Paphos), Lithuania (Vilnius, Kaunas), Luxembourg, Malta (Valetta), Norway (Oslo), South Africa (Johannesburg), Netherlands (Hague, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Eindhoven), Poland (Warsaw), Portugal (Lisbon), Romania (Bucharest), Saudi Arabia (Riyadh), Singapore, Sweden (Stockholm, Göteborg, Malme), Turkiye (Istanbul), Czech Republic (Prague) and Finland (Helsinki).

Roughly 96 pct of the voters abroad will be able to vote in their country of residence while the remaining 4 pct will need to travel to a nearby country as the required number of 50 voters needed for a polling station was not met.

Special rules apply to members of the armed forces, police, fire brigade and coast guard, enabling them to vote in the areas where they are stationed, and to sailors who happen to be in Greek ports on the day of the elections.

Support for people with disabilities

Based on legislation passed before Parliament was dissolved, polling stations must have reception areas and provide assistance to people with disabilities and reduced mobility, including allowing guide dogs.

Faster election results

Changes in the methods of collecting and transmitting the results on the night of the elections will significantly reduce the time needed to get a confident estimate of the results, with each polling station feeding its results directly into the system after the votes are counted. As a result, it is expected that a reliable result will be available for 25 pct of the country at 20:00, just one hour after polling stations close, and for 80 pct by 21:00. The traditional method of transmitting temporary results will also continue for safety reasons and for cross-checking.