At stake in this election:       

• The 300 seats in the Hellenic Parliament (Vouli ton Ellinon).

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Karolos PAPOULIAS (since 12 March 2005)
• Head of Government: Prime Minister Antonis SAMARAS (since 20 June 2012)
• Assembly: Greece has a unicameral Hellenic Parliament (Vouli ton Ellinon) with 300 seats.

Description of electoral system:

• The President is indirectly elected by parliament to serve a 5-year term.
• The Prime Minister is appointed by the president.
• In the Parliament (Vouli ton Ellinon), 288 members are elected through an open-list proportional representation system to serve 4-year terms and 12 members are elected through a closed-list proportional representation system to serve 4-year terms.*

* There is a national threshold of 3 percent. The party or apparentement winning a plurality of votes automatically is awarded 40 seats, and the remaining seats are allocated proportionally among all parties clearing the threshold. The 288 regular seats are divided among 56 constituencies: 48 multi-member and 8 single-member. In single-member districts, elections are effectively by plurality. The 12 State Deputy seats are allocated proportionally from closed lists in a nationwide district. Voters cast ballots only for the regular seats.

 Election Note:

On Sunday 25 Jauary 2015, Greece will hold the third round of a snap election for parliament. [ii] The election was called by Prime Minister Antonis SAMARAS afer his candidate for president was rejected three time by parliament (the elections were indirect).

Main parties in the electoral race:

• Party: New Democracy (ND) / Νέα Δημοκρατία, Néa Dimokratía (ΝΔ)
  • Leader: Antonis SAMARAS
  • Seats won in last election: 129
• Coalition: Syriza Unionist Social Front (SYRIZA) / Συνασπισμός Ριζοσπαστικής Αριστεράς, Synaspismós Rizospastikís Aristerás (ΣΥΡΙΖΑ , SYRIZA)
  • Leader: Alexis TSIPRAS
  • Seats won in last election: 71
• Party: Pan Hellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) / Πανελλήνιο Σοσιαλιστικό Κίνημα (ΠΑΣΟΚ)
  • Leader: Evangelos VENIZELOS
  • Seats won in last election: 33
• Party: Communist Party of Greece / Κομμουνιστικό Κόμμα Ελλάδας, Kommounistikó Kómma Elládas (KKE)
  • Leader: Dimitris KOUTSOUMPAS
  • Seats won in last election: 12
• Party: Democratic Left / Δημοκρατική Αριστερά, Dimokratiki Aristera (DIMAR, ΔΗΜ.ΑΡ)
  • Leader: Fotis KOUVELIS
  • Seats won in last election: 17
• Party: Golden Dawn / Χρυσή Αυγή, Chrysi Avg (XA)
  • Leader: Nikolaos MICHALOLIAKOS / Ilias KASIDIARIS
  • Seats won in last election: 18
• Party: Independent Greeks / Ανεξάρτητοι Έλληνες, Anexartitoi Ellines (ANEL)
  • Leader: Panos KAMMENOS
  • Seats won in last election: 20

Last election:

• The last election for parliament in Greece was held on 17 June 2012.[iii] The conservative New Democracy (ND won 129 seats, while the lefist Syriza won 71 seats.[iv] Results can be found here: http://www.electionguide.org/elections/id/1631/

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 10,775,557 (July 2014 est)[v]
• Registered Voters: 9,951,970 (2012)[vi]

Gender Data:

• Female Population: 5,509,973 (July 2014 est)[vii]
• Is Greece a signatory to CEDAW: Yes (2 March 1982).[viii]
• Has Greece ratified CEDAW: Yes (7 June 1983)[ix]
• Gender Quota:  Yes. Legislated Candidate Quota: “one-third of political parties’ candidate lists, both for national and constituency lists, must be filled with candidates of each sex.”[x]
• Female Candidates in this election: N/A
• Number of Female Legislators: 63 (21%) of 300 seats in Greece’s Hellenic Parliament (Vouli ton Ellinon).[xi]
• Human Development Index (HDI) Position: 29.[xii]
• Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: None (latest categorizations are from 2014)[xiii]