Greek legislative election, 1946 - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

These elections were marked by:

The marked abstention of voters, caused by the abstention of Communist Party of Greece
Communist Party of Greece
Founded in 1918, the Communist Party of Greece , better known by its acronym, ΚΚΕ , is the oldest party on the Greek political scene.- Foundation :...

, and the effects of the civil war
Greek Civil War
The Greek Civil War was fought from 1946 to 1949 between the Greek governmental army, backed by the United Kingdom and United States, and the Democratic Army of Greece , the military branch of the Greek Communist Party , backed by Bulgaria, Yugoslavia and Albania...

(1943-1944, 1946-1949), because of which many citizens either could not or chose not to vote.
The dominance of the right-wing parties over the centre-liberal parties, caused by the polarization between right and left.

One of the reasons for the defeat of the centre-liberal parties was the division of the Liberal Party

Liberal Party (Greece)

The Liberal Party was one of the major Greek political parties of the early 20th century.- History :Founded as the Xipoliton party in Crete , its early leaders were Kostis Mitsotakis and Eleftherios Venizelos...

, founded by Eleftherios Venizelos

Eleftherios Venizelos

Eleftherios Venizelos was an eminent Greek revolutionary, a prominent and illustrious statesman as well as a charismatic leader in the early 20th century. Elected several times as Prime Minister of Greece and served from 1910 to 1920 and from 1928 to 1932...

. One faction remained loyal to the leadership of Themistoklis Sophoulis

Themistoklis Sophoulis

Themistoklis Sofoulis or Sophoulis was a prominent centrist Greek politician from Samos Island, belonging to the centre-left wing of the Liberal Party, which he led for many years.-Early life:...

, while another faction followed Sophoklis Venizelos

Sophoklis Venizelos

Sofoklis Venizelos was a prominent Greek politician who three times served as Prime Minister of Greece .He was born in Chania. The second-born son of Eleftherios Venizelos, Sofoklis served with distinction in the Greek Army during the First World War and the initial phases of the Asia Minor...

, who formed a coalition with Georgios Papandreou and Panayiotis Kanellopoulos.

As a result of these elections, Konstantinos Tsaldaris

Konstantinos Tsaldaris

Konstantinos Tsaldaris was a Greek politician and twice Prime Minister of Greece.Tsaldaris was born in Alexandria, Egypt. He studied law at the University of Athens as well as Berlin, London and Florence...

became prime-minister leading a right-wing coalition. Nonetheless, he soon decided to resign in favor of Themistoklis Sophoulis

Themistoklis Sophoulis

Themistoklis Sofoulis or Sophoulis was a prominent centrist Greek politician from Samos Island, belonging to the centre-left wing of the Liberal Party, which he led for many years.-Early life:...

, who led a government of national unity (conservative and centre-liberal forces) during the entire second phase of the civil war

Greek Civil War

The Greek Civil War was fought from 1946 to 1949 between the Greek governmental army, backed by the United Kingdom and United States, and the Democratic Army of Greece , the military branch of the Greek Communist Party , backed by Bulgaria, Yugoslavia and Albania...

(1946-1949). One of the priorities of the new government was the proclamation of a plebiscite

Greek plebiscite, 1946

In 1946, a new plebiscite took place regarding the form of Greece's regime and whether the Greek people would once again decide upon a king or not. For the third time the royal position of George II was at stake. Nonetheless, the final result constituted an expected triumph that cannot be analyzed...

for the restoration of the Greek monarchy.

rowspan=2 colspan=3 valign=top|Summary of the 31st of March 1946 Greek Parliament

Hellenic Parliament

The Hellenic Parliament , also the Parliament of the Hellenes, is the Parliament of Greece, located in the Parliament House , overlooking Syntagma Square in Athens, Greece....

People's Party (Greece)

The People's Party of Greece was a conservative and pro-monarchist political party founded by Dimitrios Gounaris, the main political rival of Eleftherios Venizelos and his Liberal Party. The party existed from 1920 until 1958....

* Party of National Liberals (Κόμμα Εθνικών Φιλελευθέρων)
* Reformatory Party
* Others
|Konstantinos Tsaldaris

Konstantinos Tsaldaris

Stylianos Gonatas

Stylianos Gonatas was a Greek military officer and Venizelist politician and Prime Minister of Greece between 1922 and 1924.- Early life and military career :...

|align="right"|610,995
|align="right"|55.12
|align="center"|
|align="right"|
206
156
34
5
11
|align="center"|
|-
|
|National Political Union
National Political Union (1946)
The National Political Union, better known as EPE was a Greek political coalition. The coalition was founded in 1946. The coalition was made up of the Party of Venizelist Liberals, the National Unionist Party and the Democratic Socialist Party. It participated in the 1946 general election taking...

Ethniki Politiki Enosis
* Party of "Venizelian Liberals"
* Democratic Socialist Party
Democratic Socialist Party of Greece
The Democratic Socialist Party of Greece was a political party founded by George Papandreou in 1935.The party emerged from a split in the Liberal Party.The party was replaced in 1950 with the formation of the Georgios Papandreou Party....

* National Unionist Party
* Others
|
Sophoklis Venizelos
Sophoklis Venizelos
Sofoklis Venizelos was a prominent Greek politician who three times served as Prime Minister of Greece .He was born in Chania. The second-born son of Eleftherios Venizelos, Sofoklis served with distinction in the Greek Army during the First World War and the initial phases of the Asia Minor...

Georgios Papandreou
Panayiotis Kanellopoulos
|align="right"|213,721
|align="right"|19.28
|align="center"|
|align="right"|68
31
7
27
3
|align="center"|
|-
|
|Liberal Party
Liberal Party (Greece)
The Liberal Party was one of the major Greek political parties of the early 20th century.- History :Founded as the Xipoliton party in Crete , its early leaders were Kostis Mitsotakis and Eleftherios Venizelos...

|Themistoklis Sophoulis
Themistoklis Sophoulis
Themistoklis Sofoulis or Sophoulis was a prominent centrist Greek politician from Samos Island, belonging to the centre-left wing of the Liberal Party, which he led for many years.-Early life:...

|align="right"|159,525
|align="right"|14.39
|align="center"|
|align="center"|48
|align="center"|
|-
|
|National Party of Greece Ethnikon Komma Ellados
|Napoleon Zervas

Napoleon Zervas

Napoleon Zervas was a Greek general and resistance leader during World War II. He organized and led the National Republican Greek League , the second most significant , in terms of size and activity, resistance organization against the Axis Occupation of Greece.-Early life and army career:Zervas...

Parataxis (politics)

Parataxis is a term used in the Politics of Greece to refer to a political family or partisan camp grouped around a certain major idea...

of Orthodox Christian Greeks
|
|align="right"|298
|align="right"|0.03
|align="center"|
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|
|-
|
|Patriotic Party of Reservists
|
|align="right"|63
|align="right"|0.01
|align="center"|
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|
|-
|
|Party for the National Union
|
|align="right"|15
|align="right"|0.00
|align="center"|
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|
|-
|
|Social Party of Greece
|
|align="right"|13
|align="right"|0.00
|align="center"|
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|
|-
|
|Others
|
|align="right"|2,833
|align="right"|0.25
|align="center"|
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|
|-
|colspan="3"|No. of votes
|align="right"|1,121,695
|align="center"|
|align="center"|
|align="center"|354
|align="center"|
|-
|colspan="3"|No. of valid votes
|align="right"|1,108.472
|align="center"|15.49%^†
|align="center"|
|align="center"|
|align="center"|
|-
|colspan="3"|Invalid votes
|align="right"|13,223
|align="center"|1.18
|align="center"|
|align="center"|
|align="right"|
|}

^†voting rights did not extend to women
Sources: Texts of Constitutional history, Volume II

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.