
Greece Amends Electroal Law, Lowers Voting Age To 17
Fahad Shabbir (@FahadShabbir) Published July 22, 2016 | 05:10 PM

ATHENS, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22nd july,2016) : Greek lawmakers voted Thursday to amend electoral law to lower the voting age by a year to 17 and eventually eliminate a 50-seat bonus for the winning party. While the drop in voting age will take effect in the next election, the seat bonus will only be scrapped in two elections from now. This was because the leftist government of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras was unable to muster on Thursday the required support of two thirds of parliament, or 200 lawmakers, for scrapping the generous 50-seat bonus. The lower voting age however did not require an enhanced majority to be passed. A total of 179 lawmakers voted in favour of the bill, with 86 against and 16 abstentions. Critics say eliminating the bonus will make it more difficult for a single party to have an overarching majority and could cause political instability.
Even with the bonus in place, back-to-back elections were required in 2012 to form a government, plunging the debt-laden country into political uncertainty for months. Tsipras won the last election in September, and the next polls are due in 2019. Introducing proportional representation had been a long-standing pledge of his Syriza party. However, Tsipras' coalition government rests on a fragile three-seat majority and it is widely assumed that he will be unable to complete his four-year term. Tsipras' popularity has waned after he was forced last year to accept an unpopular EU bailout to keep Greece in the eurozone. He now lags behind in the polls to Kyriakos Mitsotakis, leader of the conservative New Democracy party.
Related Topics
Recent Stories

Ahmed bin Mohammed visits Saudi German Hospital in Al Barsha

Maktoum bin Mohammed launches Dubai Family Business Management Programme

Chad's Transitional Military Council Leader visits UAE Field Hospital in Am ..

Kazakhstan's BSG Technology aims to establish operations in UAE

Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed tours ADIPEC 2023

Sharjah Ruler promotes Asma Rashid bin Taliah to head of department

Sharjah Ruler promotes Ahmed Saeed Al Jarwan to head of department

Sharjah Ruler renames SHD to Housing Department

Sharjah Ruler appoints Al Shamsi as Chairman of SDTPS

Sharjah Ruler appoints Al Muhairi as Chairman of HD

Sharjah Ruler promotes Al Mahmoud to chairman of SEDD

Sharjah Ruler appoints Abu Ghazin Chairman of Fisheries Authority
More Stories From World
-
'No one better': Egyptians rally for Sisi third term
1 day ago -
Coup-hit Niger set for Algerian mediation
1 day ago -
Blaze rips through regional police HQ in Egypt, 45 injured
1 day ago -
Spanish nightclub ravaged by deadly fire ordered to close in 2022
1 day ago -
Algeria says coup-hit Niger accepts transition plan
1 day ago -
Thailand's manufacturing sector shrinks further in September
1 day ago
-
Nobel prize goes to mRNA Covid vaccine researchers
1 day ago -
1 dead, 2 missing after boat capsizes in S. Philippines
1 day ago -
Microblade stone artifacts unearthed from NE China paleolithic site
3 days ago -
Six dead, 15 trapped after mine collapses in Zimbabwe
3 days ago -
Brazil's Lula undergoes hip surgery 'without complications': doctor
3 days ago -
SSMG 2023 annual conference opens in Riyadh
3 days ago