Parliamentary elections were held in Greece between June and August 1844.

Dieter Nohlen Dieter Nohlen (born 6 November 1939) is a German academic and political scientist. He currently holds the position of Emeritus Professor of Political Science in the Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences of the University of Heidelberg. An expe ...

& Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p829 Supporters of Andreas Metaxas emerged as the largest block in Parliament. However, Ioannis Kolettis became Prime Minister on 18 August.Nohlen & Stöver, p865

Background

During and after the

Greek War of Independence The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. The Greeks were later assisted by ...

(1821–29), a series of elections for national assemblies had taken place, and promulgated a series of liberal constitutions that enshrined democratic principles. Nevertheless, the Kingdom of Greece, established in 1832 under the Bavarian prince

Otto Otto is a masculine German given name and a surname. It originates as an Old High German short form (variants ''Audo'', ''Odo'', ''Udo'') of Germanic names beginning in ''aud-'', an element meaning "wealth, prosperity". The name is recorded fro ...

, disregarded the existence of the 1832 Constitution passed by the Fifth National Assembly. From 1832 until 1835, the kingdom was ruled by a Bavarian regency, and after that by Otto as an absolute monarchy. This situation lasted until the

3 September 1843 Revolution The 3 September 1843 Revolution ( el, Επανάσταση της 3ης Σεπτεμβρίου 1843; N.S. 15 September), was an uprising by the Hellenic Army in Athens, supported by large sections of the people, against the autocratic rule of K ...

, when an uprising by the garrison and populace of Athens forced King Otto to concede elections for a

constitutional assembly A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...

. The election was held on 17 September for the "

Third of September National Assembly of the Greeks at Athens Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (disambiguation) * Third Avenue (disambiguation) * Hig ...

", and the new assembly promulgated the

Greek Constitution of 1844 The first constitution of the Kingdom of Greece was the Greek Constitution of 1844. On 3 September 1843, the military garrison of Athens, with the help of citizens, rebelled and demanded from King Otto the concession of a Constitution. The ...

in February, after which it was dissolved and new elections proclaimed.

Electoral system

The 1844 election was held by the Electoral Law of 18 March 1844, stipulating universal male suffrage over 25 years of age. Each of the Provinces of Greece was a separate

constituency An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger State (polity), state (a country, administrative region, ...

, and MPs were allocated by population: provinces with up to 10,000 inhabitants elected one MP, with up to 20,000 two, with up to 30,000 three, and over that four. In addition, the three islands that played a major role in the War of Independence,

Hydra Hydra generally refers to: * Lernaean Hydra, a many-headed serpent in Greek mythology * ''Hydra'' (genus), a genus of simple freshwater animals belonging to the phylum Cnidaria Hydra or The Hydra may also refer to: Astronomy * Hydra (constel ...

Spetses Spetses ( el, Σπέτσες, grc, Πιτυούσσα "Pityussa", Arvanitika: Πετσε̱) is an upscale affluent island in Attica, Greece. It is included as one of the Saronic Islands. Until 1948, it was part of the old prefecture of Argolis ...

and

Psara Psara ( el, Ψαρά, , ; known in ancient times as /, /) is a Greek island in the Aegean Sea. Together with the small island of Antipsara (Population 4) it forms the municipality of Psara. It is part of the Chios regional unit, which is part of ...

—the latter still part of the Ottoman Empire and represented by the inhabitants who had fled to mainland Greece after the

Destruction of Psara The Destruction of Psara (in el, Καταστροφή των Ψαρών, ) was the killing of thousands of Greeks on the island of Psara by Ottoman troops during the Greek War of Independence in 1824. Background By the beginning of the 1 ...

—exceptionally received the right to send MPs of their own, three for Hydra, and two for the other two islands. The professors of the University of Athens also elected one MP. The electoral process lasted for six months, with various constituencies voting at different times from May (Old Calendar) until August. The whole process was dominated by bribery, violence and efforts to falsify the results. Ioannis Kolettis and his French Party came third, but formed the new government in coalition with the

Russian Party The Russian Party ( el, Ρωσικό Κóμμα), presenting itself as the Napist Party ("Dell Party", el, κόμμα των Ναπαίων), one of the Early Greek parties, was an informal grouping of Greek political leaders that formed during t ...

. The new parliament convened for the first time in January 1845.

Results

References

{{Greek elections Greece Parliamentary elections in Greece Legislative Greece Greece Greece 1840s in Greek politics