As usual Athens News carries an excellent article which I have included at the bottom.
They break down the procedure when no party gets a clear majority. Basically, from what I understand, the top 3 parties, in order, each get a chance to form their own government. They each have 3 days to do it, starting with Samaras and ND. If he can’t form a government it goes to Syriza, they get 3 days and so on.
Despite all the rhetoric from Samaras pre-election about there being no chance of a coalition government with PASOK he now appears to be open to the possibility, so what will happen?
I would not be surprised to see a PASOK/ND coalition government, how long it will take to sort itself out I do not know.
Here is the Athens News article outlining the post election procedures.
For the first time after the restoration of democracy in 1974, a double-digit number of parties may pass the 3 percent threshold and enter parliament, while no party may be able to form a majority government. How will Greece be governed after May 6? The following guide provides answers to key issues that will have to be addressed on the day after this crucial parliamentary election.
Can you briefly describe how members of parliament are elected?
The parliament consists of 300 deputies who are directly elected to a four-year term of office.
The general pattern of all systems used in Greek parliamentary elections after 1974 has been the so-called reinforced proportional system, which gives the first party a considerably higher share of parliamentary seats than its actual share of votes.
These will be the first elections to apply the so-called Pavlopoulos bill (named after the former minister of interior who amended the electoral law). According to this, 50 seats in parliament will be automatically allocated to the first party. Another 12 seats are allocated on a national level (the so-called state-wide deputies), while the remaining 238 seats are filled in 8 single and 48 multi-member constituencies.
In order to participate in the allocation of seats, or enter parliament, a political party must have received at least 3 percent of the valid votes cast nationwide.
Who appoints the prime minister and on what grounds?
According to the constitution, “the president of the republic shall appoint the prime minister and on his recommendation shall appoint and dismiss the other members of the cabinet and the undersecretaries.”
After the interior ministry announces the official final results, President Karolos Papoulias has to appoint the leader of the party that has the absolute majority of seats in parliament as prime minister.
What happens if no party holds an absolute majority?
If no party manages to gain the absolute majority of seats (at least 151), then Papoulias will give the leader of the party with the relative majority an exploratory mandate to form a government that may obtain the confidence of parliament. Antonis Samaras, as head of the party leading in the polls, has hinted that if other parties do not agree to form a coalition with ND, he will push for a second round of elections, in the hope that this time his party will gain absolute majority.
Can the leader of a smaller party form a government?
If the leader of the first party fails to form a government, then Papoulias has to give the exploratory mandate to the leader of the second largest party in parliament, and, if this proves to be unsuccessful as well, to the leader of the third largest party in parliament.
In each case, an exploratory mandate is in force for three days only. If the exploratory mandates prove unsuccessful, Papoulias must then summon all party leaders to form a cabinet that may pass a vote of confidence. If this is not possible, he as president must form a cabinet composed of all parties who made it into parliament for the purpose of holding a new round of elections. If this attempt fails as well, then parliament will be dissolved and elections will be called.
In that case, who will be appointed prime minister to lead to the elections? Does Lucas Papademos remain in office?
If Papoulias’ efforts fail, the constitution gives him the right to entrust the president of the supreme administrative court or of the supreme civil and criminal court or of the court of auditors with forming a cabinet – as widely accepted as possible – to carry out elections and Papoulias will dissolve parliament.
Can the parties that agree to form a coalition government choose a different person than the leader of the first party to be the prime minister?
The first party’s parliamentary group has the right to propose to Papoulias another person for the position of the prime minister in the following two cases: when the party has no leader or party spokesman; or when the leader or party spokesman has not been elected to parliament. However, a broad interpretation of this provision gives the first party’s parliamentary group the right to propose another person as prime minister, even if none of the above-mentioned conditions are met. The president of the republic has to accept the proposal.
How many parties are registered in the May 6 elections?
A total of 32 parties, coalitions and individual candidates will participate in the May 6 general election, following their approval by the Supreme Court (Areios Pagos) on April 26. The court has banned four parties from taking part: National Hope, PAME in GESEEP, the Friends of Man, and Citizens Assembly-(Direct) Democracy in Practice.
It is understood that National Hope, as monarchist party, is prohibited from participating by electoral law. The court also banned the one-man party Tyrannicides from participating in the elections on the grounds that the name “demonstrated criminal intent”. The party’s only candidate, Athanasios Daskalopoulos, may run, though.
You are forgetting that the coalition requires a vote of confidence in Parliament before it can work. If any coalition does not have a majority, which at the moment no combination of parties can produce, then they need to call elections on 17 June.
Hi
Thank you for the comment. Yes, it looks like they wont form a coalition.