Parliamentary elections were held in
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...
on 31 March 1946.
[ Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p830 ] The result was a victory for the
United Alignment of Nationalists
The United Alignment of Nationalists ( el, Ηνωμένη Παράταξις Εθνικοφρόνων) was a right-wing political alliance in Greece formed to contest the 1946 elections. It consisted of the People's Party, the National Liberal ...
, an alliance that included the
People's Party, the
National Liberal Party, and the
Reform Party, which won 206 of the 354 seats in Parliament.
[Nohlen & Stöver, p859] As a result
Konstantinos Tsaldaris became Prime Minister leading a right-wing coalition. Nonetheless, he soon decided to resign in favor of
Themistoklis Sophoulis
Themistoklis Sofoulis or Sophoulis (; 24 November 1860 – 24 June 1949) was a prominent centrist and liberal Greek politician from Samos Island, who served three times as Prime Minister of Greece, with the Liberal Party, which he led for many y ...
, who led a government of national unity (conservative and centre-liberal forces) during the entire second phase of the
civil war
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
(1946–1949). One of the priorities of the new government was the proclamation of a
plebiscite
A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of ...
for the restoration of the Greek monarchy.
The elections were marked by the boycott of the
Communist Party of Greece claiming in protest against the unfolding, state-tolerated
White Terror
White Terror is the name of several episodes of mass violence in history, carried out against anarchists, communists, socialists, liberals, revolutionaries, or other opponents by conservative or nationalist groups. It is sometimes contrasted wit ...
against the former members of
EAM-ELAS
The Greek People's Liberation Army ( el, Ελληνικός Λαϊκός Απελευθερωτικός Στρατός (ΕΛΑΣ), ''Ellinikós Laïkós Apeleftherotikós Stratós'' (ELAS) was the military arm of the left-wing National Liberat ...
. The night before the elections, a communist band attacked a police station in
Litochoro
Litochoro ( el, Λιτόχωρο, ''Litóchoro''; Katharevousa: Λιτόχωρον) is a town and a former municipality in the southern part of the Pieria regional unit, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it has been part of the Dio-O ...
. This event is considered the beginning of the three years civil war.
One of the reasons for the defeat of the centre-liberal parties was the division of the
Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left.
__TOC__ Active liberal parties
This is a li ...
, founded by
Eleftherios Venizelos. One faction remained loyal to the leadership of
Themistoklis Sophoulis
Themistoklis Sofoulis or Sophoulis (; 24 November 1860 – 24 June 1949) was a prominent centrist and liberal Greek politician from Samos Island, who served three times as Prime Minister of Greece, with the Liberal Party, which he led for many y ...
, while another faction followed
Sophoklis Venizelos
Sofoklis Venizelos (, also transliterated as Sophocles Venizelos) (3 November 1894 – 7 February 1964) was a Greek politician, who three times served as Prime Minister of Greece – in 1944 (in exile), 1950 and 1950–1951.
Life and career
Ve ...
, who formed a coalition with
Georgios Papandreou
Georgios Papandreou ( ''Geórgios Papandréou''; 13 February 1888 – 1 November 1968) was a Greek politician, the founder of the Papandreou political dynasty. He served three terms as prime minister of Greece (1944–1945, 1963, 1964–196 ...
and
Panayiotis Kanellopoulos.
Results
References
{{Greek Civil War
Parliamentary elections in Greece
Legislative election
A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
1940s in Greek politics
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...
Greek Civil War
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...
Election and referendum articles with incomplete results
Legl