Greece passes new Local Government Code ending second‑round elections

The Greek Parliament approved the new Local Government Code, a six‑book, 774‑article law that consolidates about 2,000 scattered provisions into a single framework. The legislation eliminates the second Sunday of municipal and regional elections, moving to a single‑round system where a list must obtain at least 42 % + 1 of valid votes; if no list reaches this threshold, complementary votes from lower‑ranking lists are added. It also introduces an optional alternative vote, electronic voting procedures, and a mayor‑centric model that gives the mayor’s list a dominant share of council seats.

Opposition parties criticised the changes as “anti‑democratic” and warned that the new system could weaken representation of small communities. The Minister of the Interior, Theodoros Livanios, defended the reform, saying it ends a “legislative chaos” and will improve citizen participation, which had fallen to about 15 % in runoff rounds. He also announced a special mini‑site to guide municipal authorities in implementing the new rules and referenced plans to re‑allocate ENFIA property‑tax revenues, noting that a pilot scheme could benefit high‑value‑property municipalities like Glyfada while leaving most of the country with lower sums.

The law also provides for a substantial increase in municipal funding, including the hiring of more than 9,000 permanent staff for child‑care centres. A technical amendment attached to the bill creates a pathway for municipalities to collect their own fees directly, ending the current practice of routing municipal fees through electricity bills, with full implementation expected by 2028.