The centre-right ruling New Democracy Party (EPP) announced on Thursday that it would allow the possibility of postal voting for the first time in the June 2024 EU elections.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said the government would present a bill in early 2024 to allow citizens in or out of the country to vote by post.
According to the Greek leader, this could extend to the next national elections. Greek citizens living abroad and special categories of locals, such as seasonal workers or the disabled, will vote by post. The move appears to boost the participation of Greeks living abroad, as the ruling party believes it has an advantage in this particular electoral category.
Opposition parties, however, did not take the move favourably. The Panhellenic Socialist Movement (Pasok – PES) said it needed “guarantees” about the process that would be implemented and that other parties had not been consulted, contrary to what the Prime Minister had said in the recent past. Pasok noted that in July, Mitsotakis told the Greek Parliament:
“We will certainly not be ready before the EU elections for such a step [postal voting], but if we find that there is willingness from parties and we can reach 200 votes, we are technically ready to start this discussion and, why not, before the next national elections to complete it”.
