As for the national elections held in May and June last year, a multiplicity of parties are fielding candidates in Greece for the European Parliament elections to be held this coming weekend.
The elections in different countries
With the citizens of 27 member-states voting, the elections are being spread out over a period of days from Thursday June 6th to Sunday June 9th. A total of 720 Euro MPs will be elected to represent the EU’s 733 million citizens over the next 5 years.
First to vote will be the Dutch on Thursday 6th, followed on Friday 7th by Ireland and on Saturday 8th by Latvia, Malta and Slovakia. In the Czech Republic the polls will remain open on Friday and Saturday, while in Italy they will be open on Saturday and Sunday. In the remaining 20 EU member-states, including Greece, the ballot will take place on Sunday 9th June.
The elections in Greece
Out of a total of 46 parties who registered their intention to participate, 31 have been approved by the Supreme Court. The number is comparable with that for the national elections where, in June 2023, 26 parties, 4 coalitions and 2 independent candidates were allowed to stand. The following is a complete list:
| Nea Dimokratia | SYRIZA – Progressive Alliance | PASOK – Movement for Change |
| Communist Party of Greece (KKE) | Elliniki Lysi – Kyriakos Velopoulos | Niki |
| Plevsi Eleftherias – Zoe Constantopoulou | MeRA 25 | Foni Logikis (Voice of Reason) Afroditi Latinopoulou |
| Antarsia – Subversive Collaboration | Popular Orthodox Alert – LAOS | Symmetexo (I participate) for National Sovereignty and Cyprus |
| Marxist-Leninist Communist Party of Greece (M-L KKE) | Ethniko Metopo (National Front) | Organisation of Communist Internationalists of Greece |
| Organisation for the Reconstruction of the KKE | Party of Unity, Peace and Friendship | KEKA-AKKEL (Hunters’ and Fishermen’s Party) TOGETHER for a Free Greece |
| Patriotes – Prodromos Emfietzoglou | United Popular Front (EPAM) | Kinima 21 |
| Dimokrates – Andreas Loverdos | Greek Expats’ Network of Europe (ODEE) | New Left |
| Conservatives | Movement for National Independence | Union of Centrists |
| Greeks’ Assembly | Green Movement | Creation |
| Kosmos |
The voting process
Voters can put up to four crosses indicating their preferences. The candidates who receive the most crosses are elected so long as their party has secured the equivalent number of seats. Political parties need to accumulate at least 3 per cent of the votes in order to elect a Euro MP.
It should be noted that the Greek state constitutes a single electoral area for the election of Euro MPs, so the political parties present a unified candidate list for the whole country.
(Haniotika Nea 04/06/24)