Zaimis was elected the third and last President of the Second Hellenic Republic in 1929. He was reelected in 1933. However, only two years into his second term, he was thrown out of office by Georgios Kondylis, who abolished the Republic and proclaimed himself regent pending the results of a referendum on restoring the monarchy. This referendum resulted in George II being recalled to the throne by almost 98 percent of the vote, an implausibly high total that could have only been obtained through fraud.