The word heterocitizen is an open translation of the Hellenic word heterodemotes (ετεροδημότης). A compound word which consists of two parts: hetero- (έτερο) which means other/another and demotes (δημότης) which means a registered citizen of a municipality.

A heterocitizen is a person who is resident in one constituency and voting in another. When elections occur he has to travel to another municipality to cast his vote, something common amongst Hellenic citizens. The reason for this demographic phenomenon in Hellas has been the gradual economic migration from rural settlements to the modern metropolises. State legislation allows people to choose whether they want to vote at their place of origin or wherever their new permanent home address is. However, a significant percentage of the people decide to keep their voting rights wherever their ancestors came from.

I am a heterocitizen too, and I live in Athens for over three decades. Each time we have elections I have to travel by car and ferry for a total of seven and a half hours in order to cast my vote at my father’s village of origin Kountourata on Kefalonia Island. Even though I have never lived there permanently –apart from my long summer vacations. I can move my voting rights to where I live now. But I don’t.

Frankly, the elections for most of us, are a good excuse to travel 800 kilometres or more within three days on poorly maintained highways, just so we can get a quick glimpse of our precious homeland. Despite the fact that the candidates of the previous elections committed to fix those particular roads and have not. However, nothing ever changes really or even if it does takes many elections and even more traffic signs and detours which we see every time we make our journey towards the ballot.

Why do heterocitizens bother to make this journey every time a vote needs to be cast? Apart from the obvious, the answer is out of love and nostalgia. Love for the place where our grandparents and parents grew up, love for our place of origin and simply nostalgia because no matter where we are, we always come up with a small case of homesickness. But there is more to it than that; This is a procedure that prevents the total abandonment of the Hellenic countryside. Less enrolled people on every village’s voting lists means less attention and fewer funds from the central state of Hellas. This brief odyssey plays a key role in keeping these places alive.

This selection of photographs document the trips I took from Athens to Kefalonia island with my family, in order to cast our votes during the double elections of May 2014.