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All 369 seats in theHellenic Parliament 186 seats needed for a majority | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Parliamentary elections were held inGreece on Sunday, 14 November 1920,[1][2] or 1 November 1920 old style. They were possibly the most crucial elections in themodern history of Greece, influencing not only the few years afterwards, including theGreek defeat byKemal Atatürk's reformedTurkish Land Forces in 1922, but setting the stage for Greece's political landscape for most of the rest of the 20th century. It had been nearly five years since thelast elections, a period during which all democratic procedures were suspended due to theNational Schism, when Prime MinisterEleftherios Venizelos announced that elections would take place on 25 October. However, after the unexpected death ofKing Alexander, who had assumed the throne after the exile of his father,King Constantine I, the elections were postponed until 14 November.
Venizelos believed a victory for hisLiberal Party was all but certain because of his diplomatic and military successes against theOttoman Empire. However, the results were a disaster for him. Although hisLiberal Party received just over 50% of the vote, it won only 118 of the 369 seats in theHellenic Parliament, with theUnited Opposition – an alliance of thePeople's Party, Conservative Party, Reform Party and others – winning 251 of the 369 seats. Venizelos also failed to win a seat. Humiliated and disappointed by the outcome of the election, Venizelos left the country forFrance, leaving his Liberal Party to the administration ofPanagiotis Dagklis.
The elections were held usingmultiple non-transferable vote, with voters having as many votes as there were seats in their constituency. Constituencies were based on theprovinces, with provinces with a populations of under 10,000 having one seat, with others having one additional seat for every 10,000 people.[3]
The Liberals' defeat was considered to have been caused by the electoral system, the opposition having a highly esteemed leader inDimitrios Gounaris and managing to turn the elections into a referendum on the exiled KingConstantine I, who was still popular especially inOld Greece. It was also thought that voters were tired after almost a decade of wars and division were tempted by the United Opposition promise to secure peace with the Turks and bring troops home.
| Party | Votes | % | Seats | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal Party | 375,803 | 50.31 | 118 | |
| United Opposition | 368,678 | 49.36 | 251 | |
| Others | 2,465 | 0.33 | 0 | |
| Total | 746,946 | 100.00 | 369 | |
| Source: Greek Institute of Constitutional History[4] | ||||
