1920 Greek legislative election explained

Country:Kingdom of Greece
Type:parliamentary
Previous Election:December 1915 Greek legislative election
Previous Year:December 1915
Next Election:1923 Greek legislative election
Next Year:1923
Seats For Election:All 369 seats in the Hellenic Parliament
Majority Seats:186
Election Date:14 November 1920
Image1:Dimitrios_Gounaris.jpg
Leader1:Dimitrios Gounaris
Party1:IA
Seats1:251
Popular Vote1:368,678
Percentage1:49.36%
Colour1:0000FF
Leader2:Eleftherios Venizelos
Party2:Liberal Party (Greece)
Seats2:118
Popular Vote2:375,803
Percentage2:50.31%
Prime Minister
Posttitle:Prime Minister after election
Before Election:Eleftherios Venizelos
Before Party:Liberal Party (Greece)
After Election:Dimitrios Gounaris
After Party:People's Party (Greece)

Parliamentary elections were held in Greece on Sunday, 14 November 1920,[1] [2] or 1 November 1920 old style. They were possibly the most crucial elections in the modern history of Greece, influencing not only the few years afterwards, including the Greek defeat by Kemal Atatürk's reformed Turkish Land Forces in 1922, but setting the stage for Greece's political landscape for most of the rest of the 20th century. It had been nearly five years since the last elections, a period during which all democratic procedures were suspended due to the National Schism, when Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos announced that elections would take place on 25 October. However, after the unexpected death of King Alexander, who had assumed the throne after the exile of his father, King Constantine I, the elections were postponed until 14 November.

Venizelos believed a victory for his Liberal Party was all but certain because of his diplomatic and military successes against the Ottoman Empire. However, the results were a disaster for him. Although his Liberal Party received just over 50% of the vote, it won only 118 of the 369 seats in the Hellenic Parliament, with the United Opposition – an alliance of the People's Party, Conservative Party, Reform Party and others – winning 251 of the 369 seats. Venizelos also failed to win a seat. Humiliated and disappointed by the outcome of the election, Venizelos left the country for France, leaving his Liberal Party to the administration of Panagiotis Dagklis.

Electoral system

The elections were held using multiple non-transferable vote, with voters having as many votes as there were seats in their constituency. Constituencies were based on the provinces, with provinces with a populations of under 10,000 having one seat, with others having one additional seat for every 10,000 people.[3]

Results

The Liberals' defeat was considered to have been caused by the electoral system, the opposition having a highly esteemed leader in Dimitrios Gounaris and managing to turn the elections into a referendum on the exiled King Constantine I, who was still popular especially in Old Greece. It was also thought that voters were tired after almost a decade of wars and division were tempted by the United Opposition promise to secure peace with the Turks and bring troops home.

Notes and References

  1. "Greek Throne Is the Real Prize In Elections to Be Held Today", Washington Post, 14 November 1920, p1
  2. John S. Koliopoulos and Thanos M. Veremis (2010) Modern Greece: A History since 1821 Wiley-Blackwell, p87
  3. Nohlen & Stöver, pp814–815