The changes concern the way presidents and councils are elected
Amendments to the electoral system for municipal communities were voted on Holy Tuesday (11.04.2023), with the changes concerning the way presidents and councils are elected.

The multi-legislation of the Ministry of the Interior with the changes to the electoral system for municipal communities has been published in the Official Gazette as Law 5043/2023 entitled “Regulations regarding Local Government Organizations of the first and second degree – Provisions for the welfare of companion animals – Provisions for the human resources of the public sector – Other regulations of the Ministry of Interior and other urgent provisions”.

In particular, article 18 provides that from the next municipal elections, municipal communities with a permanent population of 201 or more will have a three-member council. Today this applies to communities with over 300 inhabitants. The municipal communities with a population of 201 to 300 inhabitants, affected by the regulation are a total of 723.

According to the new provision:

Municipal communities with a population of up to 200 inhabitants are governed by the president of the municipal community, while those with a population of more than 201 inhabitants are governed by the president of the municipal council and the council of the municipal community.

The council of the municipal community consists of:

a) three members, in municipal communities with a population of 201 to 2,000 inhabitants,

b) five members, in municipal communities with a population of 2,001 to 10,000 inhabitants,

c) 11 members, in municipal communities with a population of 10,001 to 50,000 inhabitants and

d) 15 members, in municipal communities with a population of 50,001 or more.

It is noted that municipal councils are not elected in the municipalities of the Attica Region, with the exception of the municipalities of the Regional Units of Islands, East and West Attica.

Who is elected president of the municipal community?

The president of the municipal community is elected the first candidate of the combination that collected during the first round in the municipal community the absolute or relative majority of all valid ballots. The other candidates, of the same combination, in the order of the crosses they received, are counted as substitutes.

The Coordinating Committee of the Network of Communities of Greece has expressed its opposition to the regulation, as it requests the reinstatement of the separate ballot for the election of the presidents and councils of the communities.

With article 37 the president of a municipal community with a population of up to 300 inhabitants and the councils of municipal communities with a population of 301 to 2000 inhabitants will be elected according to the electoral results of the specific municipal community, regardless of whether they are part of the combination of the successful mayor or not. Councilor seats are allocated proportionally to the combinations that took part in the elections in the specific municipal community and according to the number of valid ballots they received in it.

The president of the three-member council is the councilor of the first combination in the municipal community that received the most preference crosses.

In municipal communities with a population of 2,001 inhabitants or more in which five-member, eleven-member and fifteen-member councils are established (depending on the permanent population of each municipal community), the chairman is appointed the first adviser to the mayor’s combination, as according to the legislation the combination of mayor receives 3/5 of the council of these municipal communities.

Special regulation for the election of the president of a community council of more than 300 inhabitants with effect until December 31, 2023, which is the end of the current municipal term, is contained in article 10.

The provision constitutes compliance with a decision of the Plenary of the Council of State, which deemed as unconstitutional the provisions regarding the way of appointing the president of the municipal communities of more than 300 inhabitants by appointing the advisor of the first combination in order. With the new provision, the arrangements that provide for the election of the president of the municipal community from all the council members between the first two councilors of the first two combinations in the order of election are reinstated.

This means that in those communities of more than 300 inhabitants the president was not elected in a combination that gathered more than 50%, a special meeting of the community council will have to be held to re-elect its president.