The government scored a Pyrrhic victory this week in passing a bill making Greece’s election system more proportional representational, by eliminating a 50-MP “bonus” awarded to the “first-past-the-poll” party in general elections.
Elimination of the “bonus majority system”, however, will apply to the election after the next election, whenever it is held. The reason is that the bill did not achieve a 200-MP approval needed to be activated in the next election, bucking the change for the following election.
The measure was passed with 179 “yea” votes to 83 “nay” votes; 19 deputies voted “present”.
Voting in favor were deputies from the government coalition, leftist SYRIZA and its small rightist-populist coalition partner, the Independent Greeks (AN.EL) party, along with the Union of Centrists.
