Greek plebiscite, 1935
Encyclopedia
The Greek
plebiscite of 1935 was held to decide whether the monarchy should be restored.
In 1935, prime minister Georgios Kondylis
, a former pro-Venizelos
military officer, became the most powerful political figure in Greece. He compelled Panagis Tsaldaris
to resign as prime minister and took over the government, suspending many constitutional provisions in the process. Kondylis, who had now joined the Conservatives, decided to hold a referendum in order to re-establish the monarchy, despite the fact that he used to be a supporter of the anti-monarchist wing of Greek politics.
The result of the plebiscite constituted a triumph for Kondylis and George II
, who returned from exile. He was restored to the throne on November 30, 1935.
Contemporary historians express serious doubts about the legitimacy of the plebiscite. Besides the implausibly high "yes" vote (almost 98 percent), the vote was held in far-from-secret circumstances. Voters dropped a blue piece of paper into the ballot box if they supported the king's return, or a red paper to retain the republic. Anyone who openly favored the republic was beaten up by the police. Under the circumstances, it took a very brave Greek to vote "no." Another anomaly was that while approximately 1 and 1.3 million voters took part in the legislative elections of 1935
and 1936
respectively, the reported turnout at the 1935 referendum was officially more than 1.5 million.
A peculiar outcome of the plebiscite was the sidelining of Kondylis, who lost almost all his political influence and was forced to quit politics, as George II entrusted other politicians with running the country.
rowspan=2 colspan=3 valign=top|Summary of the 11 November 1935 Greek Plebiscite
!colspan="3" cellpadding="10" style="background-color:#E9E9E9"|Votes
|- style="background-color:#E9E9E9"
!Number
!%
|-
|colspan="3"|Yes (Νai)
|1,491,992
|97.87
|-
|colspan="3"|No (Οxi)
|32,454
|2.13
|-
|colspan="3"|No. of valid votes
|1,524,446
|
|-
|colspan="3"|Invalid votes
|3,268
|0.21%
|-
|colspan="3"|Total number of voters
|1,527,714
|
|-
|colspan=7|Source: Texts of Constitutional History (Antonis Pantelis, Stefanos Koutsoumpinas, Triantafyllos Gerozisis), Second Volume (1924-1974)
|}
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
plebiscite of 1935 was held to decide whether the monarchy should be restored.
In 1935, prime minister Georgios Kondylis
Georgios Kondylis
Georgios Kondylis was a general of the Greek army and Prime Minister of Greece. He was nicknamed Keravnos, Greek for "Thunder" or "Thunderbolt".-Military career:...
, a former pro-Venizelos
Eleftherios Venizelos
Eleftherios Venizelos was an eminent Greek revolutionary, a prominent and illustrious statesman as well as a charismatic leader in the early 20th century. Elected several times as Prime Minister of Greece and served from 1910 to 1920 and from 1928 to 1932...
military officer, became the most powerful political figure in Greece. He compelled Panagis Tsaldaris
Panagis Tsaldaris
Panagis Tsaldaris was a revered conservative politician and leader for many years of the conservative People's Party in the period before World War II...
to resign as prime minister and took over the government, suspending many constitutional provisions in the process. Kondylis, who had now joined the Conservatives, decided to hold a referendum in order to re-establish the monarchy, despite the fact that he used to be a supporter of the anti-monarchist wing of Greek politics.
The result of the plebiscite constituted a triumph for Kondylis and George II
George II of Greece
George II reigned as King of Greece from 1922 to 1924 and from 1935 to 1947.-Early life, first period of kingship and exile:George was born at the royal villa at Tatoi, near Athens, the eldest son of King Constantine I of Greece and his wife, Princess Sophia of Prussia...
, who returned from exile. He was restored to the throne on November 30, 1935.
Contemporary historians express serious doubts about the legitimacy of the plebiscite. Besides the implausibly high "yes" vote (almost 98 percent), the vote was held in far-from-secret circumstances. Voters dropped a blue piece of paper into the ballot box if they supported the king's return, or a red paper to retain the republic. Anyone who openly favored the republic was beaten up by the police. Under the circumstances, it took a very brave Greek to vote "no." Another anomaly was that while approximately 1 and 1.3 million voters took part in the legislative elections of 1935
Greek legislative election, 1935
The Greek legislative election of 9 June 1935 resulted in a victory for the People's Party of Panagis Tsaldaris.The elections were held in a climate of tension between the liberal Republicans, represented by the Venizelist parties, and the pro-royalist People's Party, following the failed...
and 1936
Greek legislative election, 1936
The 26 January 1936 Greek legislative elections were the first held in the restored monarchy. At stake were 300 seats in the Greek parliament, the Vouli....
respectively, the reported turnout at the 1935 referendum was officially more than 1.5 million.
A peculiar outcome of the plebiscite was the sidelining of Kondylis, who lost almost all his political influence and was forced to quit politics, as George II entrusted other politicians with running the country.
rowspan=2 colspan=3 valign=top|Summary of the 11 November 1935 Greek Plebiscite
!colspan="3" cellpadding="10" style="background-color:#E9E9E9"|Votes
|- style="background-color:#E9E9E9"
!Number
!%
|-
|colspan="3"|Yes (Νai)
|1,491,992
|97.87
|-
|colspan="3"|No (Οxi)
|32,454
|2.13
|-
|colspan="3"|No. of valid votes
|1,524,446
|
|-
|colspan="3"|Invalid votes
|3,268
|0.21%
|-
|colspan="3"|Total number of voters
|1,527,714
|
|-
|colspan=7|Source: Texts of Constitutional History (Antonis Pantelis, Stefanos Koutsoumpinas, Triantafyllos Gerozisis), Second Volume (1924-1974)
|}