Theodorikou Law: Damning decision by the Plenary Session of the Council of State

From Veroia and the municipal party Priority to the Citizen led by Antonis Markoulis and the municipal councillor of the same party Konstantinos Trochopoulos came the first great vindication of the democratic forces in Local Government against the distortion of the expression of the popular will sought by the Mitsotakis government and the then Minister of Interior Takis Theodorikakos, who with two key provisions in 2019 cancelled the simple proportional representation and gave the mayor's party over-representation in the executive bodies of the Local Government, namely the Economic Committee and the Quality of Life Committee.

The case, which is a major issue for the service of democracy and the expression of the popular will, was judged by the Plenary of the Council of State (CoE), which struck down the provisions of Laws 4623/2019 and 4625/2019, i.e. the provisions of the former Minister of Interior Takis Theodorikakos, as unconstitutional!

What the CoE decision says
Specifically, the summary of the decision of the Plenary of the CoE states that the provisions of Theodorikakou in Laws 4623/2019 and 4625/2019, which give over-representation on the seats in the governing party in the Economic Committee and the Quality of Life Committee against the seats of the opposition «in so far as they occupy the municipal period after the elections, are contrary to the provisions of articles 5 par. 1, 52 and 102 par. 2 of the Constitution’.

Restoring democratic legitimacy
«These provisions, in so far as they cover the period immediately following the municipal elections, have retroactively altered the framework for the exercise of the constitutionally guaranteed right to elect the authorities of local authorities,» the CoE's decision states. Given that «the will expressed by the electorate had been shaped by the electorate in a participatory manner», the CoE stresses that «decisions concerning important municipal competences are taken by the Municipal Council, the governing body of the municipality with direct democratic legitimacy, possibly requiring broader consensus in order to achieve a majority, and by councillors who were not elected with the mayor's party combination».

Ensuring the authority of the City Council

Therefore, the CoE restores the legal order by underlining that the competent body for decision-making in municipalities is the Municipal Council and not the Economic Committee and the Quality of Life Committee. In this way, the CoE restores the expressed popular will as reflected in the level of seats in the Municipal Councils allocated to the municipal factions according to the election results of the municipal elections of May 2019. Along with this, the CoE also restores the authority of the Municipal Council, underlining that it is the parliamentary body that reflects the popular will expressed through the election result. In this way, the Council of State refutes the claims of the Mitsotakis government and the former Minister of Interior Takis Theodorikakos about the «non-governability» of municipalities due to the electoral system of proportional representation.

«Simple proportional representation has not been tried!»
In its decision, the Plenary Session of the CoE states: «Moreover, at the time of the adoption of the relevant provisions, the application of the system of simple proportional representation introduced by Law 4555/2018 in the administration of municipalities had not been tested in practice in order to be justified by imperative reasons of public interest, relating to the smooth operation of these, such a serious and intense intervention of the legislator in the will of voters with the application of the disputed regulations and during the current municipal period.».

«Victory of the democratic forces of Local Government»
«The decision of the Plenary of the Council of State is a vindication not only for us, who were the first nationwide to file a petition for annulment to the Supreme Court of Cassation. It is a victory for the democratic forces of local government throughout the country!» Antonis Markoulis, lawyer and head of the municipal faction in Veroia Priority to the Citizen, stresses to AVGI.

«Together with Konstantinos Trochopoulos we fought a very long legal battle. We fought a battle for democracy,» adds Ant. Markoulis, who worked himself at his own expense for the annulment application to the CoE. He wanted to publicly thank the well-known lawyer of Thessaloniki Spyros Konstantopoulos and the lawyer Pantelis Markoulis through AYGI.

SYRIZA-P.S.: The dark and unconstitutional methods of the Mitsotakis government are being dismantled
«Order by order, the plenary session of the CoE tears up the Theodorikakos Law for Local Government», stress in a joint statement the Minister of Interior and Deputy Minister of Interior Costas Zacharias and Miltos Hatzigiannakis. «The government's claims of “governability” are refuted, since the CoE ruled that there are no reasons of public interest that justified the legislative changes», underline Mr. Zachariadis and Mr. Hatzigiannakis.