Dear Comrades,
For your information, below you may find the final results of yesterday’s national elections, as well as some short information about the parties with parliamentary representation. Despite the antidemocratic and absurd electoral law (*), our organization is now represented by 3 comrades in the Greek Parliament. On this occasion, we want to sincerely thank the dozens of fraternal parties and organizations from all over the world who have sent to SYRIZA and to KOE their solidarity and congratulations. In these critical times, we are very much aware of our responsibility towards our people and also towards the international movement. Tomorrow we will send a full statement about the ongoing important developments: because of the difficulty of the defeated pro-troika parties to form a government, the possibility of new elections has increased.
 
Results of the national elections in Greece (Sunday, 7 May 2012):
1. “New Democracy” 18,85% - 108 seats (**)
2. SYRIZA 16,78% - 52 seats
3. PASOK 13,18% - 41 seats
4. Independent Greeks 10,60% - 33 seats
5. KKE 8,48% - 26 seats
6. “Golden Dawn” 6,97% - 21 seats
7. “Democratic Left” 6,11% - 19 seats
8. Greens-Ecologists 2,93% - 0 seats (***)
9. “LAOS” 2,90% - 0 seats (***)
10. “Democratic Alliance” 2,55% - 0 seats (***)
(*) For example, in the region of Magnesia (Central Greece) SYRIZA obtained the second position, with 18%, and our candidate is the first in votes. However, SYRIZA did not elect an MP in this region, while the “Democratic Left”, with just 5,94% in Magnesia, did!
(**)The antidemocratic electoral law gives a “bonus” of 50 seats to the first party.
(***) Additionally, the electoral law imposes a 3% threshold for a party to elect MPs. As a result, in these elections a total of 19% of the voters are not represented in the Parliament; among them, the Greens-Ecologists, the extreme right-wing “LAOS” (which suffered a 50% decrease because of its support to the IMF-EU-ECB troika) and the “Democratic Alliance”.
 
Short info about the parties with parliamentary representation:
1. “Nea Dimokratia” (“New Democracy”) is the traditional right wing party. It supported the last agreement with the troika and participated in the outgoing “national unity government” together with PASOK. It suffered great losses because of its pro-troika stand (2009: 33,47%). However, thanks to the antidemocratic electoral law, “Nea Dimokratia” increased by 17 the number of its MPs compared to 2009…
2. SYRIZA is the Coalition of Radical Left. KOE participates in this alliance since 2007. Now its electorate have almost tripled in comparison with 2009 (4,60%), thanks to its clear commitment to cancel the agreements with the troika and the appeal to all the left forces to unite and form an alternative to the bourgeois pro-troika parties.
3. PASOK is the second main bourgeois party. It is self-proclaimed as socialdemocratic, but the term social-liberal is more accurate. Dominating since 3 decades in the political life of Greece, it is now literally crushed because it supported all the “agreements” with the troika during the last two years (2009: 43,92 %).
4. “Independent Greeks” were formed a few months ago by cadres of the right wing “Nea Dimokratia” who opposed the agreements with the troika, recently joined by former members of PASOK who also oppose the pro-troika policies.
5. KKE (Communist Party of Greece) marked a limited increase compared to 2009 (7,54%) despite the turn of broad masses towards the Left forces. The main reason for this stagnation, given the actual popular unrest, is its sectarian tactics and the refusal to any kind of cooperation with the radical left.
6. “Golden Dawn” is an extremist racist-neonazi group with practically no presence in 2009 (0,3%). Exploiting the huge problem of immigration (more than a million immigrants and refugees “trapped” in Greece in miserable conditions, because of the EU regulations forbidding them to go to other European countries), carefully promoted by a section of the establishment and keeping a low profile during the last months, those criminals managed to hide their neonazi identity and were presented as an “anti-systemic” alternative…
7. “Democratic Left” is a rightist split of SYRIZA, opposing the “extreme positions” of the radical left. During the last months DL was highly promoted by the mainstream Media as a “responsible alternative” to PASOK, and until a month ago it was marking impressive results (up to 18%) in the public opinion polls. Nevertheless, DL recently lost its dynamics because, in opposition to SYRIZA, it has declared that “the agreements with the troika are wrong but legally bounding the next government”.
 
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Communist Organization of Greece / Kommounistiki Organosi Elladas (KOE)
International Relations Department
Email: laokratia@yahoo.com * international@koel.gr
Web: www.koel.gr * In English: international.koel.gr
Phone: +30 210 6441745 * NEW Fax: +30 210 3473561
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