An indirect election for the position of
President of the Hellenic Republic was held by the
Hellenic Parliament
The Hellenic Parliament ( el, Ελληνικό Κοινοβούλιο, Elliniko Kinovoulio; formally titled el, Βουλή των Ελλήνων, Voulí ton Ellínon, Boule (ancient Greece), Boule of the Greeks, Hellenes, label=none), also kno ...
in April–May 1980.
The ruling
New Democracy under Prime Minister
Konstantinos Karamanlis possessed only 175 votes in the 300-strong parliament, falling short of the required number for a straightaway election (200 votes in the first two rounds, 180 in the third).
Karamanlis, who was aware of PASOK's electoral upswing and the imminence of its coming to power—as indeed happened in the
1981 elections
The following elections occurred in the year 1981.
Africa
* Central African Republic presidential election
* Djiboutian presidential election
* Egyptian presidential confirmation referendum
* Rwandan parliamentary election
* South African ...
—preferred to move to the presidency of the Republic, which at the time still held considerable powers.
He therefore resigned as prime minister to stand for the presidency, being succeeded as prime minister by
Georgios Rallis.
Several candidates were put forward by minor parties alongside Karamanlis, including
Georgios Mylonas
Georgios Mylonas (Greek: Γεώργιος Αλεξάνδρου Μυλωνάς; 6 April 1919 – 14 February 1998) was a Greek Center Union politician and government minister. He was a close aide to Greek statesman and premier Georgios Papandreou ...
(
KODISO),
Leonidas Kyrkos (
KKE Interior
The Communist Party of Greece, Interior (), usually abbreviated as KKE Interior (Greek: ''ΚΚΕ Εσωτερικού''), was a Eurocommunist party existing between 1968 and 1987 in Greece.
The party was formed after the Communist Party of Greece ...
),
Ioannis Zigdis Ioannis or Ioannes ( el, Ιωάννης), shortened to Giannis or Yannis (Γιάννης) is a Greek given name cognate with Johannes and John and the Arabic name Yahya . Notable people with the name include:
* Ioannis I, Tzimiskis, Byzantine Emp ...
(
EDIK Edik is a given name. Notable people with the name include:
* Edik Baghdasaryan, Armenian journalist
* Edik Korchagin (born 1979), Russian footballer
* Edik Sajaia
Edik Sajaia ( ka, ედიკ საჯაია; born 16 February 1981) is a Ge ...
),
Stelios Papathemelis
Stelios Papathemelis ( el, Στέλιος Παπαθεμελής) (born January, 1938 in Thessaloniki) is a Greek politician and lawyer. He studied law at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.
Political career
He was elected for the first ti ...
,
Ilias Iliou
Ilias Iliou (, also transliterated as ''Ēlías Ēlioú''; May 1904 – 25 January 1985) was a Greek lawyer and politician, member of the Greek Parliament and leader of the United Democratic Left (EDA). He was also a distinguished writer and j ...
and
Faidon Vegleris (
United Democratic Left
The United Democratic Left (, ''Eniéa Dimokratikí Aristerá'' (EDA)) was a left-wing political party in Greece, active mostly before the Greek military junta of 1967–74.
Foundation
The party was founded in July 1951 by prominent center-l ...
).
Karamanlis received 179 votes and 180 votes in the first and second ballot respectively,
and was elected on the third ballot with 183 votes, i.e. the 175 MPs of New Democracy as well as eight independent MPs or MPs from the minor parties.
Overview
References
1980
Events January
* January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission.
* January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC.
* January 9 – ...
1980 elections in Greece
1980s in Greek politics
Konstantinos Karamanlis
{{Greece-election-stub