Piraean Senate

Piraean Senate Πειραιηκή ἐκκλησία Pireikí Ekklesia (Piraese)
Type
Type	Unicameral
Leadership
Speaker	Konstantinos Baltas, PSEE since 28 March 2018
Structure
Seats	250
Political groups	Government   Socialist Workers (PSEE) (141) Opposition   Homeland (PK) (63)   All for the Nation (OE) (19)   Communists (KKP) (13)   Change! (A) (7)   Green Alternative (PEL) (4)   Novalian People's Party (NNS/NLK) (3)
Elections
Last election	24 March 2018
Meeting place
Palace of the Republic, Alikianos, Piraea
Website
ekklesia.kr

The Piraean Senate (Piraese: Πειραιηκή ἐκκλησία, Pireikí Ekklesia) is the parliament of Piraea located in the Palace of the Republic in Alikianos. The Senate is the supreme legislative body, holding ultimate power over all other political bodies, and represents the citizens through an elected body of Senators.

It is unicameral and has 250 members. Elections are held regularly every four years, but may be called earlier at the discretion of the prime minister should the president give approval. The last election was held in 2018 and the next election must be held no later than 2022. Members are elected by proportional representation. 200 seats are allocated based on votes share, with the remaining 50 are awarded to the largest party. There is an electoral threshold of 2% that parties and members must pass in order to enter the Senate. If an individual passes the threshold but their party does not, they are still able to take their seat.

Name

In Piraese, the name Ekklesia comes from the principal assembly of democracy of ancient Lasithi. It was used by Piraeans under the the Solarian Empire as the translation for the Solarian senate.

History

The first national parliament was established in 1857 following the formation of the Kingdom of the Piraese. It was sanctioned under the 1857 Constitution, but was not democratically elected. Members were appointed by the king. This was unchanged until the October 5th Movement in 1873, which resulted in the creation of a lower House of Deputies that was elected by all land-owning men over 25 years of age. This system remained in place until the abolition of the monarchy in 1948.

The 1947 Constitution of the First Republic resulted in the abolition of the upper house and the creation of a unicameral legislature known as the Senate. Members were elected to represent electoral districts using first past the post. The 1947 Constitution expanded suffrage to all men. The majority of the Piraean population was illiterate, meaning many newly enfranchised voters struggled to read the ballots. Electoral fraud was and bribery were common as a result. In 1961, the military government suspended the senate after seizing power. Many senators were put on trial and imprisoned.

The fall of the military government in 1981 resulted in the establishment of the Second Republic, governed in accordance to the 1981 Constitution. The Senate was re-established and its members were elected through proportional representation and suffrage was expanded to all citizens, including women for the first time. Since the 1981, the Piraese Socialist Workers Union has remained the largest party in the Senate after every election but the 1994 and 2002 elections.

Current composition

	Party	Position	Party leader(s)	Seats	Status
	Piraese Socialist Workers Union (PSEE) Πειραιηκή Σοσιαλιστών Εργαζομένων Ένωση	Centre-left to far-left	Maria Theopeftatou	141 / 250	In government
	Homeland Party (PK) Πατριωτικό Κόμμα	Centre-right to far-right	Nikos Polakis	63 / 250	Official opposition
	All for the Nation (OE) Όλα για το Έθνος	Far-right	Nikitas Mitarakis	19 / 250	In opposition
	Communist Party (KKP) Κομμουνιστικό Κόμμα Πειραιάς	Far-left	Aleka Papas	13 / 250	In opposition
	Change! (A) Αλλαγή!	Centre to Centre-right	Panos Zouraris	7 / 250	In opposition
	Green Alternative (PEL) πράσινη εναλλακτική λύση	Centre-left	Fofi Frangidis Giorgos Tarantilis	4 / 250	In opposition
	Novalian People's Party (NNS/NLK) Novaliji narodna stranka Νοϝαλικό λαϊκό κόμμα	Big-tent	Miro Kovač	3 / 250	In opposition