Suffrage

The online platform for registration in the electoral roll for postal voting was launched on Monday.

The initiative aims to streamline the process for Greek citizens to exercise their voting rights in the European Parliament elections and national referendums.

A legislation establishing postal vote for the upcoming European elections, as well as national referendums, was voted by the parliament on Wednesday. 

The provision was passed by the 158 MPs of ruling New Democracy party. 

Interior Minister Niki Kerameus introduced an amendment to the postal voting bill in parliament on Monday proposing the adoption of postal voting for Greeks living abroad in both European and national elections.  

The announcement was made during the parliamentary debate on the legislation related to postal voting in European elections and referenda. 

Greek diaspora representatives have requested the expansion of postal voting rights for national elections, while speaking in a parliamentary committee.

"The caretaker government has gone to great lengths to ensure that the upcoming elections are free, fair and well-organized, despite the ambiguities and weaknesses of the changes to the electoral law quickly voted by the previous parliament. Fatigue from frequent elections does not change the important fact that voting is an expression of basic political right.

The European Court of Justice has ruled today that Brits living in EU countries have lost the right to vote and stand in local elections after Britain left the bloc in 2020. Exceptions are those British citizens who also have EU citizenship, the DPA and AP reported.

Diaspora organisations are up in arms at a proposal by Montenegro's new government to erase citizens living abroad from the electoral roll after years of political dispute over whether or not they have the right to vote.

Albanian Socialist Prime Minister Edi Rama has outraged human rights organisations with a recent claim that patients with COVID-19 should "continue to stay at home" for the April 25 elections and not try to vote.

The first day of voting abroad in the presidential elections ended in 777 polling stations in Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia, and until 23:00 (Romania's time) a number of 77,130 Romanian citizens had exercised their right to vote, according to the data supplied by the Central Electoral Bureau, informs the Foreign Affairs Ministry (MAE).

The total number of voters registered on the permanent electoral lists is 18,217,156, for Sunday's poll, according to a statement of the Permanent Electoral Authority (AEP).