*The election was indirect. The 300 members of the Hellenic Parliament (Vouli ton Ellinon) voted for President on Wednesday 17 December 2014. The government's candidate for president attained only 160 of the 200 needed in the first round. A second round will be held Tuesday 23 December 2014, in which 200 votes will be needed for the election of a candidate.

**The election was ultimately decided in a fourth round of voting which took place on 18 February 2015.  For more information, please see http://www.electionguide.org/elections/id/2841/

For more, see: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-30515780

At stake in this election:       

• The office of President of Greece *

*The election is indirect. Members of the Hellenic Parliament (Vouli ton Ellinon) vote for President.

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 Wednesday 17 December 2014, Greece will hold a snap election for president.[i] If the 180 votes that are necessary to elect a president are not acquired, two subsequent rounds of voting could occur: Tuesday 23 December 2014 (2^nd Round) and Monday 29 December 2014 (3^rd Round).[ii]

Main parties in the electoral race:

• Leader: Antonis SAMARAS *
  • Party: New Democracy (ND)
• Leader: Alexis TSIPRAS *
  • Party: Syriza

*Both parties will put forth candidates for President.

Last election:

• The last election for the office of president in Greece was held on 3 February 2010.[iii] President PAPOULIAS ran as an incumbent and won 266 out of 300 votes.[iv] Results can be found here.

Population and number of registered voters:

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

*The election is indirect. Members of the Hellenic Parliament (Vouli ton Ellinon) vote for President.

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]