At stake in this election:

• 300 seats in the Parliament (Vouli ton Ellinon)

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Karolos PAPOULIAS
• Head of Government: Prime Minister Konstandinos (Kostas) KARAMANLIS
• Assembly: Greece has a unicameral Parliament (Vouli ton Ellinon) with 300 seats.

Description of electoral system:

• The President is 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.

Main parties in the electoral race:

• Party: Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) / Πανελλήνιο Σοσιαλιστικό Κίνημα (ΠΑΣΟΚ)
  • Leader: Geórgios PAPANDREOU Jr.
  • Seats won in this election: 160
• Party: New Democracy (ND) / Νέα Δημοκρατία (ΝΔ)
  • Leader: Antonis SAMARAS
  • Seats won in this election: 91
• Party: Communist Party of Greece (KKE) / Κομμουνιστικό Κόμμα Ελλάδας,
  • Leader: Aleka PAPARIGA
  • Seats won in this election: 21
• Party: Popular Orthodox Rally (LA.O.S.) / Λαϊκός Ορθόδοξος Συναγερμός (ΛΑ.Ο.Σ)
  • Leader: Georgios KARATZAFERIS
  • Seats won in this election: 15
• Party: Coalition of the Radical Left (SYRIZA) / Συνασπισμός Ριζοσπαστικής Αριστεράς (ΣΥΡΙΖΑ)
  • Leader: Alexis TSIPRAS
  • Seats won in this election: 13
• Party: Ecologist Greens / Οικολόγοι Πράσινοι
  • Leader: N/A
  • Seats won in this election: 0
• List: Others
  • Leader: N/A
  • Seats won in this election: 0

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 11,107,017 (2009)
• Registered Voters: 9,933,385 (October 2009)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 5,653,482 (2009)

·         Is Greece a signatory to CEDAW: Yes (2 March 1982)

·         Has Greece ratified CEDAW: Yes (7 June 1983)

·         Gender Quota: Yes

·         Female candidates in this election: Yes

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 52 (following the 2009 elections)

·         Human Development Index Position: 29 (2014)

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: N/A

Disability Data:

·         Is Greece a signatory to CRPD: Yes (30 March 2007)

·         Has Greece ratified CRPD: Yes (31 May 2012)

·         Population with a disability: 1,666,052 (est.)