1964 Greek legislative election

Parliamentary elections were held in Greece on 16 February 1964.[1] They resulted in a clear victory for Georgios Papandreou and his Center Union (EK) party. Papandreou subsequently formed the 37th government since the end of World War II.[2]

1964 Greek legislative election

19 February 1964
All 300 seats of the Greek Parliament 151 seats were needed for a majority
First party Second party Third party   Leader Georgios Papandreou Panagiotis Kanellopoulos Ioannis Passalidis Party ΕΚ ERE EDA Leader since 1961 1963 1951 Last election 138 seats, 42.0% 132 seats, 39.4% 28 seats, 14.3% Seats won 171 107 22 Seat change 33 27 6 Popular vote 2,424,477 1,621,546 542,865 Percentage 52.7% 35.3% 11.8% Swing 10.7% 4.1% 2.5%
Prime Minister before election Georgios Papandreou ΕΚ Subsequent Prime Minister Georgios Papandreou ΕΚ

Background

The government led by Panagiotis Kanellopoulos of the National Radical Union (ERE) resigned on 25 September 1963, after which Papandreou formed an interim government on 28 September. As no party had a majority in the Parliament, Papandreou's government initiated preparations for elections on 3 November.[2] Although the Center Union emerged as the largest party, allowing Papandreou to form a new government, it also soon resigned.[2] King Paul accepted Papandreou's resignation on 31 December 1963 and Ioannis Paraskevopoulos formed an interim government to serve until the 1964 elections.[2]

The ERE had been weakened prior to the elections when Constantine Karamanlis abandoned politics and exiled himself in Paris. The new ERE leader, Panagiotis Kanellopoulos, formed an alliance with the Progressive Party of Spyros Markezinis.

Results

Party	Votes	%	Seats	+/–
Centre Union	2,424,477	52.7	171	+33
National Radical Union-Progressive Party	1,621,546	35.3	107	–27
United Democratic Left	542,865	11.8	22	–6
List of Independents	9,951	0.2	0	0
Invalid/blank votes	28,151	–	–	–
Total	4,626,990	100	300	0
Registered voters/turnout	5,662,965	81.7	–	–
Source: Nohlen & Stöver

Aftermath

Shortly after the elections, Papandreou formed his first solid government, which would last till 1965. However, in 1965 the apostasia crisis, a confrontation between Papandreou and King Constantine II, caused the government to fall. It was replaced by a series of weak governments, comprising centrist defectors and supported by the National Radical Union and Constantine. This eventually led to a military dictatorship starting in 1967, which exploited the endless political unrest.

References

1. Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, p830 ISBN 978-3-8329-5609-7
2. Milutin Tomanović (1965) Hronika međunarodnih događaja 1964, Institute of International Politics and Economics, p252 (in Serbo-Croatian)