The ruling New Democracy under Prime Minister Konstantinos Karamanlis possessed only 175 votes in the 300-strong parliament, falling short of the required number for a straightaway election (200 votes in the first two rounds, 180 in the third).[1] Karamanlis, who was aware of PASOK's electoral upswing and the imminence of its coming to power—as indeed happened in the 1981 elections—preferred to move to the presidency of the Republic, which at the time still held considerable powers.[2] He therefore resigned as prime minister to stand for the presidency, being succeeded as prime minister by Georgios Rallis.