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 wit ...
on 31 March 1946.
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 ex ...
& Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p830 The result was a victory for the
United Alignment of Nationalists, 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, 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 polic ...
(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
The Communist Party of Greece ( el, Κομμουνιστικό Κόμμα Ελλάδας, ''Kommounistikó Kómma Elládas'', KKE) is a political party in Greece.
Founded in 1918 as the Socialist Labour Party of Greece and adopted its curre ...
claiming in protest against the unfolding, state-tolerated
White Terror against the former members of
EAM-ELAS. 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 ...
. 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 l ...
, founded by
Eleftherios Venizelos
Eleftherios Kyriakou Venizelos ( el, Ελευθέριος Κυριάκου Βενιζέλος, translit=Elefthérios Kyriákou Venizélos, ; – 18 March 1936) was a Greeks, Greek statesman and a prominent leader of the Greek national liberati ...
. One faction remained loyal to the leadership of
Themistoklis Sophoulis, while another faction followed
Sophoklis Venizelos, 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, 1964–1 ...
and
Panayiotis Kanellopoulos.
Results
References
{{Greek Civil War
Parliamentary elections in Greece
Legislative election
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 wit ...
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 wit ...
Election and referendum articles with incomplete results
Legl