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A referendum on retaining the republic was held in Greece on 8 December 1974. Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p830 After the collapse of the military junta that ruled the country since 1967, the issue of the form of government remained unsolved. The Junta had already staged a referendum held on 29 July 1973, which resulted in the establishment of the Republic. However, after the fall of the military regime, the
new New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...
government, under Prime Minister
Constantine Karamanlis Konstantinos G. Karamanlis ( el, Κωνσταντίνος Γ. Καραμανλής, ; 8 March 1907 – 23 April 1998), commonly anglicised to Constantine Karamanlis or just Caramanlis, was a four-time prime minister and twice as the president o ...
, decided to hold another one, as Junta legal acts were considered void. Constantine II, the former king, was banned by the new government from returning to Greece to campaign in the referendum, but the Karamanlis government allowed him to make a televised address to the nation. The proposal was approved by 69.2% of voters with a turnout of 75.6%.


Campaign

The referendum campaign included television debates in which Constantine himself took part on the monarchist side, and those debating in favour of the republic included Marios Ploritis, Leonidas Kyrkos, Phaedon Vegleris, George Koumandos,
Alexandros Panagoulis Alexandros Panagoulis ( el, Αλέξανδρος Παναγούλης; 2 July 1939 – 1 May 1976) was a Greek politician and poet. He took an active role in the fight against the Regime of the Colonels (1967–1974) in Greece. He became fa ...
and
Costas Simitis Konstantinos G. Simitis ( el, Κωνσταντίνος Γ. Σημίτης; born 23 June 1936), usually referred to as Costas Simitis or Kostas Simitis (Κώστας Σημίτης), is a Greek politician who served as Prime Minister of Greece a ...
, who later (from 1996 to 2004) served as
Prime Minister of Greece The prime minister of the Hellenic Republic ( el, Πρωθυπουργός της Ελληνικής Δημοκρατίας, Prothypourgós tis Ellinikís Dimokratías), colloquially referred to as the prime minister of Greece ( el, Πρωθυ� ...
. Political parties abstained from taking part in the referendum campaign, with the television debates confined to ordinary citizens representing one side or the other. On 23 November 1974 Prime Minister Karamanlis requested for his parliamentary party group to adopt a neutral stance on the issue. Two televised speeches a week were given to each side, with an additional two messages broadcast by the former king; a radio broadcast on 26 November and a television speech on 6 December.


Results

The electorate voted categorically in favour of republic.
Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cypru ...
gave more than 90% of its vote for the republic, but in around thirty constituencies, the result for republic was around 60–70%. The largest wins for the restoration of the monarchy were in the Peloponnese and Thrace, at around 45%. The constituencies with the highest votes for the restoration were Laconia at 59.52%, Rhodope at 50.54%, Messenia with 49.24%,
Elis Elis or Ilia ( el, Ηλεία, ''Ileia'') is a historic region in the western part of the Peloponnese peninsula of Greece. It is administered as a regional unit of the modern region of Western Greece. Its capital is Pyrgos. Until 2011 it w ...
at 46.88% and Argos at 46.67%.


By region


Aftermath

With the announcement of the results, Karamanlis said: "A cancer has been removed from the body of the nation today." On 15 December 1974, the incumbent President
Phaedon Gizikis Phaedon Gizikis ( el, Φαίδων Γκιζίκης ; 16 June 1917 – 26 July 1999) was a Greek army general, and the second and last President of Greece under the Junta, from 1973 to 1974. Early life and military career Born in Volos, ...
submitted his resignation, and Karamanlis thanked him with a personal visit and by writing for his services to the country. On 18 December 1974,
Michail Stasinopoulos Michail Stasinopoulos ( el, Μιχαήλ Στασινόπουλος; 27 July 1903 – 31 October 2002) was a Greek jurist and politician who served as President of Greece from 18 December 1974 to 19 July 1975. A member of New Democracy, he was the ...
, a state list MP for
New Democracy New Democracy, or the New Democratic Revolution, is a concept based on Mao Zedong's Bloc of Four Social Classes theory in post-revolutionary China which argued originally that democracy in China would take a path that was decisively distinc ...
, was
elected Elected may refer to: * "Elected" (song), by Alice Cooper, 1973 * ''Elected'' (EP), by Ayreon, 2008 *The Elected, an American indie rock band See also *Election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a populatio ...
and sworn in as President of Greece. In February 1988, Prime Minister
Constantine Mitsotakis Constantine most often refers to: * Constantine the Great, Roman emperor from 306 to 337, also known as Constantine I * Constantine, Algeria, a city in Algeria Constantine may also refer to: People * Constantine (name), a masculine given nam ...
stated in an interview given in London that although he was a republican, the manner in which the referendum was carried out had been "unfair". The statement attracted wide criticism in Greece and was debated in the media. For the remainder of his life, under the pretense of invoking the narrative style reserved for historical reminiscence, Mitsotakis continued to refer to the deposed monarch deferentially by referring to him as the "King" in multiple interviews. In April 2007, the newspaper '' To Vima'' carried out a survey in which only 11.6% of those polled wished for Greece to become a monarchy again.


References

{{Greek elections 1974 referendums Republic Republicanism in Greece 1974 in Greece 1970s in Greek politics Monarchism in Greece Constitutional referendums Monarchy referendums December 1974 events in Europe