The countdown to Greece’s next presidential election is underway, with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis expected to announce his choice for the nation’s highest ceremonial role by mid-January.
This will be decided during the holiday period following critical discussions in Chania on the island of Crete, where Mitsotakis and his closest advisors will spend the festive season.
Presidential election in Greece
The President of the Hellenic Republic is elected by the members of the Greek Parliament, where the governing New Democracy has 156 MPs. Early rounds for the election demand 200 votes, later falling to 180 and then 151 votes.
He or she regulates the functions of the institutions of the Republic according to Article 30, Paragraph 1 of the Constitution. However, the individual elected holds no actual executive powers.
The institution of the Presidency of the Hellenic Republic was established in 1975, one year after the restoration of democracy in Greece following the seven-year military dictatorship, which lasted from 1967 to 1974.
The President is elected by Parliament and serves a term of five years. He or she has the right to re-election only once. The elected President takes an oath before Parliament prior to assuming his or her duties, the form of which is outlined in the Constitution.
Will Sakellaropoulou earn a second term as Greece’s President?
According to reports, the current president, Katerina Sakellaropoulou, the first female President of Greece, whose term ends on March 13, 2025, remains a potential candidate for reappointment.
Eftychis Vardoulakis, a political analyst said recently:
“Beyond the symbolic significance of nominating the first woman to hold the highest office in the land, Mitsotakis’ decision in 2020 to back Sakellaropoulou also served a strategic purpose: As the country entered a new period after five tough years, he wanted to cast himself as the force shaping development. Part of this was choosing a candidate with a clean political slate to signal this transition.”
Other potential candidates
Other potential candidates whose names have been circulating in Greek media include former prime minister Lucas Papademos and former PASOK Vice President Evangelos Venizelos, Bank of Greece Governor Yannis Stournaras, and several center-left politicians.
Lucas Demetrios Papademos is a Greek economist and academic who served as 12th Prime Minister of Greece from November 2011 to May 2012, leading a national unity government in the wake of the Greek debt crisis.
Evangelos Venizelos is an academic and retired politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister of Greece from 2011 to 2015, as well as Minister for Foreign Affairs from June 25, 2013 to January 27, 2015 and Minister for Finance of Greece from June 17, 2011 to March 21, 2012.
Yannis Stournaras is an economist who has been the Governor of the Bank of Greece since June 2014. Previously, he had been the Greek Minister of Finance from July 5, 2012, serving until June 10, 2014.
These potential candidates are centrists that could satisfy the main opposition PASOK, leading to the election of the new president with a large majority.
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