1920 Greek referendum

A referendum on the return of King Constantine I was held in Greece on Sunday, 5 December 1920 (22 November o.s.) [1] [2] [3] It followed the death of his son, King Alexander. The proposal was approved by 99.0% of voters.[4] The anti-Venizelist parties had recently won the elections of 1920. However the referendum is considered rigged by modern Greek historians.

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The result ensured and affirmed the dominance of the anti-Venizelist camp in the country. Constantine returned, albeit questioned by the supporters of the Liberal Party, while Liberal leader Eleftherios Venizelos maintained his silence, being in voluntary exile abroad. Constantine returned from Venice with the Greek cruiser Georgios Averof.

The return of Constantine I was opposed by the Entente powers (United Kingdom and France) because of his pro-German stance during World War I (see National Schism) and applied an economic blockade to Greece.

France began to support the Kemalists in the war against Greece, while Britain maintained a passive stance with only diplomatic support to the Greek kingdom. So his enthusiastic return was short-lived as a result of the disastrous military events that followed in the Asia Minor Campaign of 1922.

Results
Choice Votes %
For999,95499.0
Against10,3831.0
Invalid/blank votes2,000–
Total1,012,337100
Source: Nohlen & Stöver

References
  1. "Greeks Will Hold Plebiscite Today", The New York Times, December 5, 1920, p5; The date is sometimes listed as 22 November, the date on the Julian calendar that was still in use in Greece before 1923, when it adopted the Gregorian calendar in use in most of the rest of the world
  2. "Ex-Greek King Would Return Despite Allies— Plebiscite to Be Held Today— Premier Protests Entente Course", Pittsburgh Gazette Times, December 5, 1920, pIII-10
  3. A Global Chronology of Conflict: From the Ancient World to the Modern Middle East, Volume V, ed. by Spencer C. Tucker (ABC-CLIO, 2010) p1824
  4. Nohlen & Stöver, p838
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