Greece to Introduce Postal Voting for European Parliament Elections

Greece's ruling centre-right party, "New Democracy," announced on Thursday a groundbreaking development in the country's electoral process. As reported by Euractiv, in June 2024, Greeks will have the opportunity to vote by mail for the first time in the history of the nation's European Parliament elections.

Specifically, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis stated that in early 2024, the government will propose legislation allowing citizens to vote by mail regardless of their actual place of residence. This initiative aims to facilitate the participation of citizens both within the country and abroad in the electoral process. Mitsotakis also hinted that this initiative may extend to future national elections.

Consequently, Greek citizens residing abroad, as well as various categories of local residents such as seasonal workers or individuals with disabilities, will have the opportunity to participate in the elections. The previous requirement to vote at the registered polling station posed obstacles to the expression of will for these categories of Greek citizens.

This move is likely to increase political engagement among Greeks residing abroad. However, opposition parties, including Pasok – Syriza, have expressed reservations, demanding guarantees of transparency in this process and highlighting the lack of consultations with other political forces. The Communist Party and the right-wing "Greek Solution" party have also opposed this decision.

The "New Democracy" party hopes to leverage the electoral opportunities provided by postal voting, considering the conservative views of emigrants. Meanwhile, Syriza is ready to capitalize on the advantages of the new voting process within the country, especially since seasonal workers in the tourism sector, predominantly young people, previously had no opportunity to participate in voting. Analysts believe that most of them are likely to support Syriza.

In addition to the electoral developments, Greece's Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, Christos Staikouras, proposed the creation of a railway connection between Greece, Bulgaria, Moldova, and Romania to connect with Ukraine. This proposal was made in mid-October during the summit in Varna, Bulgaria, where Greece suggested establishing a route to diversify trade connections between Mediterranean ports and Ukraine.