After the Netherlands, Ireland and the Czech Republic, voters in Slovakia will vote on the Composition of the European Parliament away. The polls opened at 7 a.m. and closed at 10 p.m. The country with 5.4 million inhabitants elects 15 EU representatives. The elections are taking place under the impression of the assassination attempt on the Slovak head of government Robert Fico, who was shot and seriously injured in mid-May. The pro-Russian populist blames the opposition for the attack.
Also in ItalyVoting in Latvia, Malta and the French overseas territories starts this Saturday. In Italy, polling stations open at 3 p.m. Post-fascist head of government Giorgia Meloni hopes for significant gains for her party Fratelli d’Italia (Brothers of Italy). The Italians vote until Sunday. In Germany, as in most other EU countries, the only election day is on Sunday.
The Netherlands was the first country to hold its European elections on Thursday, followed by Ireland and the Czech Republic on Friday. Research shows that there is a shift to the right European parliament over there. In the Netherlands, however, according to initial forecasts, the red-green alliance was just ahead of the party of right-wing populist Geert Wilders.
720 parliamentarians from 27 Member States
In Czech Republic Voters have until Saturday afternoon to cast their votes. Opinion polls show former Prime Minister Andrej Babiš’s populist opposition party ANO in the lead, ahead of a centre-right alliance.
EU-wide results are not expected until Sunday evening, when polling stations in Germany and the other EU countries are closed. The European Parliament has had 705 members since Britain left the EU. After the elections in the 27 member states, the parliament is expected to grow to 720 seats. Voting takes place via national lists. For each country there is a fixed number of representatives in parliament, depending on the population. Germany has the most seats with 96 seats. According to the statistics agency Eurostat, more than 360 million people across Europe are being called on to cast their vote.
After the Netherlands, Ireland and the Czech Republic, voters in Slovakia will vote on the Composition of the European Parliament away. The polls opened at 7 a.m. and closed at 10 p.m. The country with 5.4 million inhabitants elects 15 EU representatives. The elections are taking place under the impression of the assassination attempt on the Slovak head of government Robert Fico, who was shot and seriously injured in mid-May. The pro-Russian populist blames the opposition for the attack.
Also in ItalyVoting in Latvia, Malta and the French overseas territories starts this Saturday. In Italy, polling stations open at 3 p.m. Post-fascist head of government Giorgia Meloni hopes for significant gains for her party Fratelli d’Italia (Brothers of Italy). The Italians vote until Sunday. In Germany, as in most other EU countries, the only election day is on Sunday.