Greek voters are heading to the polling stations, which opened at 7 am across the country to elect 21 new Members to the European Parliament (MEPs) in the European Elections for the 2024-2029 term.
There are 31 Greek political parties taking part in the electoral process with over 1,100 candidates on the European Elections ballots.
The number of Greek representatives in the European Parliament (EP) has remaind the same despite the approval of an increase in the total number of seats from 705 to 720, corresponding to 2.9% of the full composition of the top body in the European Union.
A party or a coalition of cooperating parties needs to reach a 3% threshold of valid ballots to secure one of the 21 seats allocated for Greece in the European Parliament, according to Greek law.
The 3% threshold is a minimum prerequisite and does not guarantee the election of an MEP, as the number of parties and their final percentage will precisely determine how the available seats will be distributed in Brussels and Strasbourg.
In total, approximately 370 million European citizens are expected to vote to elect their representatives in the European Parliament.
A total of 9,796,330 Greek voters are registered in the electoral rolls, 4,755,686 men and 5,040,644 women. Among them 202,515 have registered on the postal voting platform, and 13,023 come from other EU countries. Compared to the Greek national elections of 2023, 111,500 new voters have gained the right to participate in the elections.
The right to vote is granted to those who turn 17 in the election year, meaning they were born by December 31, 2007.
Voting is mandatory, with exceptions for those over 70 years of age and for voters residing abroad.
Polling stations in Greece will operate from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm, while postal votes must be received by the relevant authorities within the specified deadline, which is by 5:00 PM Greek time on June 8, 2024, in order to be counted as valid.
