Karamanlis staged yet another referendum on the monarchy (the sixth since 1920), in an effort to settle finally the rancorous debate that had poisoned Greek politics throughout the twentieth century. In December 1974, a majority of 70 percent of Greek voters opted to abolish the monarchy. Not coincidentally, this margin was nearly identical to the figure attained in the only other legitimate vote on the monarchy, that of 1924, which had established the interwar republic.

Punishing the junta and reforming the military and the civil service were more delicate operations. Karamanlis wanted to avoid a repetition of the military retributions of the 1920s and to preserve relations between the civilian government and the military. Accordingly, the three top leaders of the junta received death sentences that were later commuted, as did Ioannides. However, none of the more than 100 civilian ministers who had served the junta was convicted of a criminal offense. Many people serving in the military and the police were tried and convicted, and universities were purged of junta sympathizers.