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Greece parliament is also known as Vouli ton Ellinon which translated literally means 'Will of the Greeks'. The Hellenic parliament is situated at the Parliament House, looking out over Syntagma Square of Athens. The Greek parliament is headed by the Speaker (president of the House), currently held by Professor Anna Benaki-Psarouda, who is the first woman to hold the honorable office. The Parliament of Greece is one of the oldest bastions of the concept of popular government because this nation, even in the ancient times, was the cradle of democracy and republican governance.
The Greek Parliamentarians, 300 in numbers, are elected in a four-year term by an unique system of reinforced proportional representation in 8 single seat constituencies, 48 multiple seat constituencies and a solitary list prepared with nationwide importance. 92% of the seats are decided by direct constituency voting, and voters are allowed to select their chosen candidate or candidates by tagging their name on the ballot of the party. The leftover 12 vacancies are engaged from national party listings on a top to bottom basis, endorsed by the total vote proportion each party garnered. Greek citizens eligible for deputies are aged 25 or over on the date of the election and anyone above the age of eighteen are eligible to vote. Public servants are debarred from rendering their candidacies, unless they irreversibly relinquish their office before the announcement; however, university professors are exempted from this restriction.
The day to day functions of parliament are addressed by the Presidium consisting of the Speaker, 5 Deputy Speakers, 3 Deans and 6 Secretaries and defined by a tripartite arrangement, where the 4th Deputy Speaker, a dean and a secretary belong to main opposition party. The fifth Deputy Speaker and a secretary pertain to the opposition party having third largest majority by seats. A member of the Presidium cannot be an Under-Secretary or a member of the Cabinet but of course must be a parliamentarian. At the start of each term the five Deputy Speakers and Speaker of the Parliament are elected for the entire duration of that term. However the Deans and the Secretaries have tenure of one regular session of the Parliament for which they were specifically elected.
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