# 1985 Greek presidential election

The 1985 Greek presidential election was an indirect election for the position of President of the Hellenic Republic and was held by the Hellenic Parliament in March 1985. The election was conducted under a tense and confrontational atmosphere due to the constitutional dubious tactics of the Prime Minster Andreas Papandreou for political gains in the June 1985 parliamentary election.

## Background

In 1985, the five-year term of President Constantine Karamanlis was ending, and while he had not made any announcements, it was widely anticipated to secure a second term. New Democracy, Karamanlis' former political party, announced their support for Karamanlis for president.
At the Central Committee of PASOK on 9 March, Andreas Papandreou made a surprising announcement, siding with the left wing of PASOK, that he would not support Konstantinos Karamanlis for a second term for President of Greece. Instead backed Christos Sartzetakis, who was a Supreme Court of Greece judge known for his principled handling of the 1963 murder of left-wing deputy Grigoris Lambrakis and viewed favorably by the left, and a protagonist in Costas Gavras' 1969 movie "Z" based on the novel of Vassilis Vassilikos. At the same time, Papandreou also announced constitutional amendments designed to increase the powers of his position and argued that Karamanlis should not involved because he was the architect of the Constitution of 1975, thus triggering a series of events that led to a constitutional crisis. Karamanlis resigned in protest, and PASOK's deputy Ioannis Alevras became acting president.
Sartzetakis was the sole candidate since the political opposition from New Democracy, led by Constantine Mitsotakis, abstained. According to the Constitution of 1975, up to three rounds of a parliamentary vote were permitted for presidential candidates; the first two rounds required more than 200 votes out of 300 members of parliament, and in the third round, 180 votes out of 300. If all three rounds failed, then new elections would be held. Papandreou could only rely upon approximately 164 MPs (he had expelled six PASOK MPs for criticizing him since 1981), 13 MPs from the communist party (KKE), and five independent MPs (about 182).
The opposition raised the issue of whether Alevras could participate in the parliamentary vote for his successor, requesting to be precluded from the presidential vote and his deputy rights while acting president. Specifically, the Constitution of 1975 states that the president's office is incompatible with any other office (Article 30). Constitutional scholars supported this viewpoint. Specifically, academic Nikolaos Saripolos believed that only the Constituent Assembly could determine whether Alevras could vote. PASOK argued that there was no explicit provision in the constitution, so this issue should be resolved in the Parliament; an opinion from Grigorios Kasimatis [el] and friend of Papandreou. Ultimately, the PASOK-dominated parliament decided to allow it, with New Democracy deputies leaving the chamber. PASOK deputy Agamemnon Koutsogiorgas later argued in Parliament that the issue raised by constitutional scholars on Alevras' ineligibility to vote due to Article 30 in the Constitution applies only to elected presidents and therefore does not apply to Alevras.

## Parliamentary votes for president

The first two rounds failed to elect Sartzetakis as president, which took place on 17 and 23 March. The elections were carried out in conditions of high political tension; at one point, a New Democracy deputy momentarily grabbed the ballot box. Like in the previous rounds, in the third round on 29 March, colored ballots (in blue color for Sartzetakis) and semi-transparent envelopes were used. New Democracy chairman Mitsotakis accused Papandreou of violating constitutional principle of secret ballot (Article 32), by forcing his deputies to cast their vote with colored ballots. However, Mitsotakis' concern was dismissed because PASOK controlled the majority in the Parliament. Mitsotakis and Papandreou ended up having a verbal confrontation. Mitsotakis claimed Papandreou had no respect for the Parliament, and Papandreou responded, with Mitsotakis' role in the Apostasia of 1965 in mind, that the latter was the last person entitled to speak about respect. Despite vigorous protests from the opposition, PASOK members used colored ballots under strict surveillance to spot potential defectors. Outside the building of the Parliament, PASOK supporters were chanting.
In the third round on 29 March, Sartzetakis was voted president with a decisive vote from Alevras since Papandreou's party suffered the defection of two MPs, who Papandreou accused of taking bribes from Mitsotakis' party. Mitsotakis considered the vote illegal and claimed that if New Democracy won the elections, Sartzetakis would not be president by bringing the legality of the process to Council of State, further deepening the constitutional crisis.
| Candidate | Candidate | Party | 17 March | 17 March | 23 March | 23 March | 29 March | 29 March |
| Candidate | Candidate | Party | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % |
| | Christos Sartzetakis | Independent | 179 | 61.51 | 185 | 62.71 | 180 | 61.64 |
| Present but not voted | Present but not voted | Present but not voted | 112 | 38.49 | 110 | 37.29 | 112 | 38.36 |
| Total | Total | Total | 291 | 100.00 | 295 | 100.00 | 292 | 100.00 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | Valid votes | 291 | 97.98 | 295 | 98.66 | 292 | 97.99 |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 6 | 2.02 | 4 | 1.34 | 6 | 2.01 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 297 | 100.00 | 299 | 100.00 | 298 | 100.00 |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 300 | 99.00 | 300 | 99.67 | 300 | 99.33 |
| Source: |||||||||

## Aftermath

With Sartzetakis as president, Papandreou formally submitted the proposals for constitutional amendments by adding to the previous one the removal of a secret ballot for president. Both parties continued their polarized confrontations in the campaigns for the June 1985 parliamentary election. In the event, PASOK was re-elected with 45.82% of the vote, losing approximately 2.3% from 1981, while New Democracy increased its share of the vote by 4.98% to 40.84%. Papandreou's gamble worked to his benefit because he gained from far-left voting blocks covering the losses from the centrist voters, and appealed to socialist voters who rejected Karamanlis's perceived hindrance of PASOK's policies. After the election, Mitsotakis accepted Sartzetakis as president and the head of the state.