Municipal Elections 2023: What will apply in the October elections

The new electoral law 4804/2021 for Local Government, replaces the simple proportional representation of the law “Cleisthenes” 4555/2018, with enhanced.

The main changes are summarised as follows:

• Restoration of the 5-year term of office. The mayors and regional governors who will emerge from the 8 October 2023 elections will serve a full five-year term of office, starting on 1 January.
• The electoral threshold from the first round is set at a rate of 43% plus one vote.
• Set threshold 3% for the right to stand for election as a municipal or regional councillor, which is independent of the number of members of the council concerned and aligned with the threshold applicable in national elections.
• The election of 3/5 of the members of the council to the winner of the elections is ensured, in the first combination.
• Provision is made for the election of councils or presidents of local communities throughout the country. Candidates for local councils must be on a mayoral candidate ballot. The first person to be elected President, irrespective of the combination, is the first to be elected in the first round.
• Nominations can only be submitted through combinations and by means of a declaration submitted through the gov.gr portal, at the candidate's choice, by his or her maiden or maiden name.
• Deadline of 31 August is set the year of the election, for the drawing up and declaration of combinations and 10 September for their proclamation by the competent court, so that there is full control of electoral expenditure and candidates are known to the electorate in good time.
• The number of members of municipal and regional councils, as well as of municipal community councils, is determined on the basis of specific population scales. A prudent reduction in the number of their members is envisaged. A municipality that consists of more than six (6) municipal units and has a population of between 10,001 and 50,000 inhabitants is entitled to an increased number of city council members.
• The framework of eligibility and disqualifications is rationalised and systematised, taking into account comments made in the public consultation.
• Procedural provisions relating to the adjudication of disputes related to the elections of local authorities are clearly and comprehensively restated.
• For the purpose of holding elections to municipal and regional authorities, the resident population shall be taken into account, as reflected in the results of the latest census.
• According to the current situation, the elected regional governor, during his term of office, is suspended from his professional activity.

According to the results of the population census, the number of members of local councils and the number of members of the city council are directly dependent on the results of the population census.

So, the results of the population census lead to an automatic reduction or increase in the number of local village council members and a reduction or increase in the number of municipal councillors in some cases.

Inviolable incompatibility established for those who have a special relationship with the municipality and their candidacy is precluded, in that particular area.

Anyone connected with the municipality concerned, its legal entities or legal entities in which it participates, by a contract for the supply, execution of a project, provision of services, concession of the right to exploit a project or service with the object of of a total value exceeding ten thousand (10.000) euros, provided that the contract is in force on or after 1 January of the year of the elections.

Membership of the management or employees of public enterprises and public utilities, linked to the municipality concerned, its legal entities or legal entities in which it participates, by a contract related to the scope of their activity, shall not constitute an obstacle or incompatibility.

Obligation of the State to comply with the decision 2366/2021 of the Council of State, which renders invalid the election of presidents of local communities

The law of the former Minister of Interior Theodorikos was passed in August 2019, i.e. after the local elections but before the new local administrations took office.

Specifically the conditions for the election of community presidents have been changed, in a manner which, in the opinion of the members of the Chamber of the CoE (decision number: 2366/2021) «the rights to vote and to stand for election, as well as the principles of free and undistorted expression of the will of the people, as an expression of the principle of popular sovereignty and the equality of conditions of electoral competition».

According to the decision of the Council of State, there was a distortion of the popular mandate, as the electoral law, on the basis of which the municipal elections were held (on the basis of which citizens exercised their right to vote), provided that there would be an internal election within the local council between the highest-ranking councillor of the first combination and the highest-ranking councillor of the second combination, and the highest-ranking councillor within the local council would be elected president of the local community.

This internal election within the local council was abolished by the Theodorikakos law in August 2019, after the municipal elections and after citizens had already voted with another system, which they did not know would be abolished.

Law 4804/2021 on Local Government entitled “Election of Municipal and Regional Authorities and other provisions” published in the Government Gazette No. Official Gazette 90 Issue A’ 5 June 2021 stipulates the following:

Article 3 Municipal authorities:

The municipalities are governed by the city council, the finance committee, the quality of life committee, the executive committee and the mayor.

The city council consists of:

a) thirteen (13) members, in municipalities with a population of up to two thousand (2,000) inhabitants,
b) fifteen (15) members, in municipalities with a population of two thousand one to five thousand (2,001 - 5,000) inhabitants,
c) nineteen (19) members, in municipalities with a population of five thousand one to ten thousand (5.001 - 10.000) inhabitants,
d) twenty-five (25) members, in municipalities with a population of ten thousand one to thirty thousand (10.001 - 30.000) inhabitants,
e) twenty-nine (29) members, in municipalities with a population of thirty thousand one to fifty thousand (30.001 - 50.000) inhabitants,
f) thirty-five (35) members, in municipalities with a population of fifty thousand one to one hundred thousand (50,001 - 100,000) inhabitants,
g) thirty-nine (39) members, in municipalities with a population of one hundred thousand one to one hundred fifty thousand (100,001 - 150,000) inhabitants and
h) forty-three (43) members, in municipalities with a population of one hundred and fifty thousand one (150,001) and above.

If the municipal units of municipalities with a population of ten thousand one to thirty thousand (10,001 - 30,000) inhabitants, thirty thousand one to fifty thousand (30,001 - 50,000) inhabitants and fifty thousand one to one hundred and fifty thousand (50,001 - 150,000) inhabitants established by article 2 of Law No. 3852/2010 (A’ 87), exceed six (6), the number of members of their City Council is that corresponding to the next population scale.

Article 4 Authorities of municipal communities:

Municipal communities with a population of less than or equal to three hundred (300) inhabitants are governed by the president of the municipal community.

Municipal communities with a population greater than or equal to three hundred and one (301) inhabitants shall be governed by the president of the municipal community council and the municipal community council.

The council of the municipality consists of:

a) three (3) members, in municipalities with a population of three hundred and one to two thousand (301 - 2,000) inhabitants,
b) five (5) members, in municipalities with a population of two thousand one to ten thousand (2,001 - 10,000) inhabitants,
c) eleven (11) members, in municipalities with a population of between ten thousand one and fifty thousand (10,001 - 50,000) inhabitants and
d) fifteen (15) members, in municipalities with a population of fifty thousand one (50.001) or more inhabitants.

No councils of municipal communities shall be elected in the municipalities of the Region of Attica, with the exception of the municipalities of the Regional Units of the Islands, East and West Attica and the municipalities formed by the municipal communities of par. 4 of Article 2 of Law No. 3852/2010 (Α’ 87).

Article 5 Time of elections - Duration of the municipal period:

The mayors, the municipal councillors, the councillors of the municipal communities and the presidents of the municipal communities are elected every five (5) years. by direct, universal and secret ballot.

The election shall be held on the second Sunday of October in the fifth year of each municipal term.
The authorities shall be established on 1 January of the year following that in which the elections are held and their term of office shall expire on 31 December of the fifth year.

For the first application of this, the election of municipal authorities shall be held on Sunday, 8 October 2023 and the installation of the authorities referred to in par. 1 shall take place on 1 January 2024.

Article 15 Preparation of combinations - Submission of nominations:

Each combination shall include the candidate mayor, the candidate councillors, by constituency, the candidate councillors of municipalities and the candidate chairmen of municipalities, by municipality and for at least eighty percent (80%) of the municipalities.

The minimum number of candidates a combination must include is:

α) For municipal council candidates, at least equal to the number of seats in each constituency, with the possibility of an increase of up to one hundred and fifty percent (150%).

b) For the candidates for president and councillors of each municipal community, at least equal to the number of seats of each municipal community, with the possibility of an increase of up to one hundred and fifty percent (150%).

c) From each gender, at least forty percent (40%) of the total number of candidates of the relevant combination, including the candidate mayor and municipal councilors

d) An electronic fee is attached, which shows that the candidate mayor, each candidate municipal councillor, municipal community councillor and municipal community president has deposited in favour of the State the amount of two hundred (200), fifty (50), ten (10) or ten (10) euros, respectively. The electronic fee is issued either individually per candidate or for all or part of the combination.

The declaration of combinations is submitted to the online nomination portal of Article 33 of p.d. 26/2012 (A’ 27) of the heads of combinations of mayoral candidates not later than 23:59 on 31 August of the year of the elections. Until the expiry of the deadline of the first subparagraph, it is only allowed to complete the combination up to the permitted number of candidates for municipal councilors, councillors of municipal communities and presidents of municipal communities by submitting a supplementary statement of the candidate mayor.

Article 21 Printing and distribution of ballot papers:

The ballot papers of the combinations are printed at the expense of the combination concerned. The combinations must print the ballots and deliver to the mayor of the municipality concerned, with proof, ballots in a number sufficient for the needs of the electoral districts of the municipality concerned, which may not be less than the number of the respective voters, with the possibility of an increase of up to twenty percent (20%), at least twenty (20) days before the vote. In the event of a repeat vote, pursuant to Article 25, the ballots shall be delivered four (4) days prior to the day of the vote.

Article 22 Preference crosses:

For the election of councillors, the voter may express a preference for one (1), two (2) or three (3) candidates. If the number of city council members is greater than or equal to twenty-five (25), the voter may express a preference for a maximum of four (4) candidates.

For the election of municipal councillors, the voter may express his/her preference for one (1) or two (2) candidates.

For the election of the president of the municipal community, the voter may express his/her preference for one (1) candidate.

Article 24 Successful combination of mayor and runner-up combinations of the city council - Election of mayor

In the elections of mayors and councillors, the combination that obtained a majority of more than forty-three percent (43% + 1 vote) of the total number of valid ballots and runner-up combinations of the city council those who received at least one (1) seat, according to Article 26, shall be considered successful.

Rule 25 Revote

If no combination does not meet the requirements of par. 1 of Article 24, the vote is repeated the following Sunday between the mayoral candidates of the two (2) combinations that received the most votes. The candidate mayor shall be elected mayor, head of the combination that obtained in the repeat vote an absolute majority of all valid ballots.

Rule 26 Distribution of seats

If the percentage received by the successful combination, in accordance with Article 24, is up to sixty percent (60%) of the total number of valid ballots, the successful combination elects three-fifths (3/5) of the total number of seats on the city council. The resulting fraction shall be rounded to the nearest whole number.

If the calculation of three-fifths (3/5) and two-fifths (2/5) of the total number of seats results in a fraction of less than half a unit, it shall not be calculated, and if it results in a fraction of more than half a unit, it shall be rounded up to the next unit.

On the basis of the first subparagraph, the seats of the city council, which are three-fifths (3/5) and two-fifths (2/5) respectively, are as follows:

a) in the municipal councils consisting of thirteen (13) members, eight (8) and five (5) seats, respectively,

b) in the municipal councils consisting of fifteen (15) members, nine (9) and six (6) seats, respectively,

c) in the municipal councils consisting of nineteen (19) members, eleven (11) and eight (8) seats, respectively,

d) in the municipal councils consisting of twenty-five (25) members, fifteen (15) and ten (10) seats, respectively,

e) in the municipal councils consisting of twenty-nine (29) members, seventeen (17) and twelve (12) seats, respectively,

f) in the municipal councils consisting of thirty-five (35) members, twenty-one (21) and fourteen (14) seats, respectively,

g) in the municipal councils consisting of thirty-nine (39) members, twenty-three (23) and sixteen (16) seats, respectively, and

h) in the municipal councils consisting of forty-three (43) members, twenty-six (26) and seventeen (17) seats, respectively.

The successful combination shall elect the number of seats to which it is entitled in accordance with par. 2.

The calculation of the total number of seats of each runner-up combination entitled to a seat is made as follows:

The right to elect a councillor has a combination which in the initial vote (first round) collected a percentage of three percent (3%) at least the total number of valid ballot papers.

Article 27 Distribution of seats of the municipal council per constituency:

α) The successful combination shall be allocated one (1) seat in each constituency.

b) The number of valid ballots, received in the municipality the smallest combination in electoral strength entitled to a seat, divided by the number of seats entitled and the integral quotient of the division, increased by one (1) unit, is the electoral measure. The number of valid ballots cast in each constituency shall be divided by the electoral measure and the combination shall occupy as many seats as the whole quotient of the division. If the combination is still entitled to seats on the city council, the number of seats shall be filled by allocating one from each constituency where it retains the largest, in descending order, unused ballot paper balance.

c) If in each constituency there are as many available seats as the combination is entitled to, it occupies all of them and their number is deducted from the available seats of the constituency. If there is not a sufficient number of seats in the constituency, the combination shall be allocated only the available seats. If after the completion of this procedure there are still seats unavailable for the combination, they shall be allocated one (1) at a time in order to the constituencies in which the combination has the largest, in descending order, unavailable balance of ballot papers.

d) The seats allocated in accordance with paragraphs a) and b) shall be deducted from the seats available in the constituency.

e) By the same procedure allocated seats in each constituency for each of the other runner-up combinations in ascending order of election.

f) The seats that remain vacant in each constituency after the completion of the procedure of a), b), c), d) and e) and for all runner-up combinations are occupied by the successful combination.

Article 29 Election of councillors of municipal communities

In municipal communities with a population greater than or equal to three hundred and one (301) residents, the successful mayor's combination receives three-fifths (3/5) of the total number of seats of the councillors in each municipal community and the runner-up combinations receive two-fifths (2/5).

a) in the councils of the municipal communities of the commune consisting of three (3) members, two (2) and one (1) seat, respectively,

b) in the councils of municipal communities consisting of five (5) members, three (3) and two (2) seats, respectively,

c) in the councils of municipal communities consisting of eleven (11) members, seven (7) and four (4) seats, respectively,

d) in the councils of municipal communities consisting of fifteen (15) members, nine (9) and six (6) seats, respectively.

If a municipal community have not been declared candidates of the combination of the successful mayor- successful mayor, the seats of the council of the municipal community are allocated proportionally between the remaining combinations of ’analogous application of paragraph. 3

Article 30 Election of presidents of municipal communities

In the municipalities with a population of up to three hundred (300) inhabitants, president of the municipal community is elected the first in crosses of preference candidate of the combination that gathered in the initial vote (first round) in the municipal community the absolute or relative majority of all valid ballots. The other candidates, of the same combination, in order of the crosses received, are counted as alternates.

Article 37 Oath of office of elected officials

After the proclamation of the successful and runner-up combinations, the mayor, the municipal councillors, the municipal community councillors and the presidents of municipal communities, before the day of installation and assumption of their duties, give the following oath, performed in the presence of a legal religious official, who is registered in the Register of Article 14 of Law. 4301/2014 (A’ 223): «I swear to be loyal to my country, to obey the Constitution and the laws and to perform my duties honestly and conscientiously». The oath for foreign citizens of the European Union is as follows: «I swear to be loyal to Greece, to obey the Constitution and the laws and to perform my duties honestly and conscientiously». Any person who does not wish to take an oath shall, in lieu of an oath, give the following assurance: «I declare, on my honour and conscience, that I will be loyal to Greece, that I will obey the Constitution and the laws and that I will perform my duties honestly and conscientiously».

If one of the formulas in par. 1, the mayor, the councillor, the councillor of a municipality or the president of a municipality shall be deemed not to have taken the oath.

OBSTACLES AND INCOMPATIBILITIES:

1.Citizens who are deprived of the right to vote cannot be elected or be mayors, municipal councillors, councillors of municipal communities or presidents of local communities.

2.They cannot be elected or be mayors, municipal councillors, councillors of municipal communities or presidents of municipal communities:

α) Judicial officials, officers of the armed forces and security forces, religious officials of known religions, as well as members of the independent authorities referred to in Article 101A of the Constitution or authorities designated by law as independent or regulatory, if such members are required by law to be employed in full and exclusively or suspended from performing any other public function or duty, whether remunerated or not, in any public sector post, during their term of office in that authority. By way of exception, judicial officers and officers of the armed forces and security forces, if they have not served within the boundaries of the municipality in which they wish to stand for election on and after 1 January of the year of the local elections, may stand as candidates if they resign from their position, in accordance with the procedure of Article 30 of Law 26/2012 (A’ 57), before the date of the declaration of candidates. The incompatibility referred to in the first subparagraph shall not apply to those uniformed personnel of the security forces who are promoted to officers upon completion of years of actual service during their elected term of office. Special provisions prohibiting the submission or acceptance of the resignation of such persons or limiting their right to resign or the authority's power to accept their resignation shall remain in force.
b) The Ombudsman of the Citizen and Business and the Regional Ombudsman of the Citizen and Business, if his/her territorial jurisdiction concerns or occupies the municipality for which he/she is a candidate, for four (4) years from the expiration of his/her term of office in any way.
c) The O.T.A. Supervisor, in the municipalities in which his/her jurisdiction extends, for four (4) years from the expiration of his/her term of office in any way.
d) Directors, deputy directors, chairmen of boards of directors, managing directors or appointed advisors of legal persons under public law, state legal persons under private law, public enterprises and enterprises whose management is directly or indirectly determined by the State by administrative act or as a shareholder, as well as of all types of legal persons of municipalities, who are not elected members of local government, have not been elected to the above offices or have not been appointed to these positions ex officio, in accordance with the legislation governing these legal persons, in the municipalities within the administrative boundaries of which the territorial jurisdiction of the legal persons extends, provided that they held these offices on and after 1 January of the year in which the elections are held.
ε) Employees with a public law and private law employment relationship of indefinite duration of the State, municipalities, regions and legal entities included in the Register of General Government Entities, as it is in force ten (10) months before the holding of the elections, who, during and after 1 January of the year in which the elections are held, have exercised the functions of head of an organisational unit at the level of general directorate or directorate or department in the municipalities within the administrative boundaries of which the responsibilities of their organisational units extend. The scope of the first subparagraph shall not apply to the directors of primary and secondary education units, as well as to the directors of departments, units, clinics and laboratories of the medical service of the National Health System, but shall apply to the regional directors of education and the heads of education directorates, the medical directors in charge of the Medical Service and the Health Centres, as well as the coordinator in charge of the scientific operation of the Health Centre.
f) Anyone connected with the municipality concerned, its legal entities or the legal entities in which it participates, with a contract for the supply, execution of a project, provision of services, concession of the right to exploit a project or service with a total value of more than ten thousand (10,000) euros, if the contract is in force on and after 1 January of the year of the elections. Membership of the management or employees of public enterprises and public utility bodies associated with the municipality concerned, its legal entities or the legal entities in which it participates, by a contract related to the scope of their activity shall not constitute an obstacle or incompatibility. The conclusion of a contract for the purchase, sale or lease of municipal real estate shall not constitute an incompatibility, provided that the relevant contract has been concluded following a bidding procedure.
g) General directors, managing directors, chairmen and members of the boards of directors, managers, shareholders and partners of capital companies, who have contracted with the municipality concerned, its legal entities or legal entities in which it participates, if their share in the companies exceeds five percent (5%) of the total capital of the company, as well as partners of partnerships and joint venturers, who have contracted with the municipality concerned, its legal entities or the legal entities in which it participates, if the conditions of para. f). If the municipality concerned participates in any way in the enterprise with which it, its legal persons or the legal persons in which it participates, there is no incompatibility for the elected members of the municipality who participate in the management of this enterprise.
η) General secretaries of municipalities, special advisers of municipalities and lawyers with a paid mandate of municipalities, in the municipalities in which they served, during and after 1 January of the year of the elections.

1. Those who have been removed from any elective office of the first or second degree of local government are ineligible:
   a) following a final conviction, in accordance with paragraph c’ of par. 1 of article 236 of the law. 3852/2010 (A’ 87); or
   b) following a reasoned decision of the Supervisor of O.T.A. for disciplinary misconduct in accordance with articles 233 and 234 of Law No. 3852/2010.

2. They may not be mayors, municipal councillors, councillors of municipal communities or presidents of municipal communities, employees with public law and private law employment relationship of indefinite duration serving in the same municipality and in all kinds of legal entities which have established or in which the municipality participates. This incompatibility shall not apply if the persons referred to in the first subparagraph resign before the date of their installation. If they do not resign before the date of their installation, they shall automatically cease to hold office. The competent department of the municipality shall without delay inform the local authority supervisor of the adoption of the relevant declaratory act. If the persons referred to in the first subparagraph are not elected or if they are elected and their term of office expires for any reason, they shall automatically return to active service, in accordance with Article 32 of Law No. 4257/2014 (Α’ 93).

3. Mayors, councillors, councillors of municipalities or presidents of municipalities who accept any of the duties or works that constitute an incompatibility or acquire popularity in another municipality shall be removed from office. The competent administrative court of first instance shall, by decision, declare the existence of the incompatibility and the disqualification from holding office, if an objection is lodged in accordance with Articles 71 to 75. An appeal against the decision declaring incompatibility may be lodged with the Council of State in accordance with Article 76.

4. Candidacy for both levels of local government or for more than one local government office in the same or another level of local government is not permitted. A candidate who stands as a candidate in violation of the first subparagraph shall not be declared a candidate for any of the positions for which he/she has stood as a candidate. If he is nevertheless nominated, his candidature shall be annulled for all the posts by a decision of the competent administrative court, without it being necessary to lodge an objection in accordance with Articles 71 to 75. An appeal against the decision of the Administrative Court of First Instance may be lodged with the Council of State in accordance with Article 76.

5. It is not allowed the coincidence in the same person of the status of an elected official in both levels of local government or of two directly elected local government offices. In this case, the person is automatically disqualified from holding both offices, by a declaratory act of the relevant Supervisor of Local Authorities.