On June 7, 1975, the Parliament voted for a new Greek Constitution. After a referendum on December 8, 1974, in which they voted for an autocratic republic, the new Constitution proclaimed the country a presidential-parliamentary democracy and determined that the basis of the state was the principle of popular sovereignty.

“Yesterday, a new chapter began in modern Greek history when the Greek parliament voted for a constitution that institutionally ends democracy. Thus, from the situations that had a negative impact in the past, recent and distant, there was nothing left that could hinder the progress of the country.

That is why the Prime Minister, Mr. K. Karamanlis, to the applause of the majority of MPs, said: “Members of Parliament, I want to responsibly inform you and therefore the Greek people that the prospects for the future of Greece have never been better in the past,” Kathimerini wrote. on its front page the day after the adoption of the Constitution.

The 208 current New Republic deputies voted in favor of the Charter, while the opposition abstained, attributing to the new Constitution authoritarian provisions that enforce gender balance, parliamentary restrictions, and superpowers given to the President of the Republic.

“With the help of statements, announcements and interviews, the leaders of the opposition parties stated that they would immediately begin the struggle for the revision of what they considered to be an undemocratic Constitution.

However, all opposition parties tried to declare that this race would be held within the framework of the law, thus emphasizing that there could be no question of any “lack of competition”.

»[…] Yes, the matter of the Constitution and the disagreements around it were and remain great, but they did not take on an explosive form.

And this is a huge win for democracy, given that apart from a war of words, it is unlikely that political bitterness will prevail in the future.”

The 1975 constitution, which established the separation of powers and laid a solid foundation for the rule of law, is still in force today with four revisions – in 1986, 2001, 2008 and 2019.