A total of 745 Greeks from Oceania (Australia and New Zealand) have registered as of last Saturday on the epistoliki.ypes.gov.gr platform to vote by mail in the European elections on June 9.
The number, although a significant increase compared to those who voted in the national elections last year, is disappointingly low.
The deadline for registration expires today (Holy Monday) at 11.59pm Greece time, which is 6.59am on Holy Tuesday, Eastern Australia time. Foreign residents should take into account the time difference between their place of residence and their home country.
Survey: Greece – Postal Vote 2024
The European elections in Greece will be held on 9 June 2024.
For the first time, the Greek Government has enabled postal voting for all, including Greeks in Australia and the Diaspora.
Greek citizens who wish to use postal voting from abroad must register on the Ministry of Interior’s platform (in Greek) by 11:59PM (Greece time) Monday 29 April 2024 epistoliki.ypes.gov.gr/
Neos Kosmos wants to know:
Will you register to vote in the European Elections by postal vote?
YesNoNot sure
Are you aware of who the Greek, and Greek Diaspora candidates are?
YesNoNot sure
If not, will you find out about them?
YesNoNot sure
The epistoliki.ypes.gov.gr app is accessible through gov.gr and the websites of the Ministries of the Interior and Foreign Affairs.
Voters facing difficulties in using a computer can contact a Citizens Service Center (KEP) or the competent Greek Consular Authority to register in the special postal voting registers.
In spite of the overall low numbers, the rate of voter registrations for postal voting is steadily increasing as the deadline approaches having gone from previously 3,000 to 4,000 daily registrations to often exceeding 10,000 registrations per day.
This has resulted in an increase in the shifts of the support office operating for this purpose at the Ministry of the Interior on a 24-hour basis, seven days a week.
By Saturday (April 27) afternoon, over 157,000 Greek citizens had registered on the relevant electronic platform to vote by mail in the European elections on June 9.
Also read: Livanios: Vote to make your voice heard in Greece
Of these, approximately 116,000 reside in Greece, while almost 41,100 reside in 115 countries. The number of registered expatriate voters is much higher compared to the parliamentary elections of 2023, for which almost 23,000 had registered to vote in person, while about 18,000 voted in May and 15,600 in June.
Eight out of ten expatriates reside in European countries (34,580 – 84.1 per cent), approximately 4,290 are registered from North and Central America (10.4 per cent), 870 from Asian countries (2.1 per cent), 400 from Africa (1 per cent), 215 from countries in South America (0.5 per cent), and 745 from Oceania (1.8 per cent).
By country, the majority of registrations come from residents of Germany, the United Kingdom, the USA, Belgium, and the Netherlands. In the June elections, expatriates residing in countries where no polling stations were set up in last year’s parliamentary elections, such as Angola, Botswana, Zambia, Papua New Guinea, Djibouti, Barbados, Ghana, El Salvador, and Ivory Coast, will be able to vote.
The interest in the new voting method, by Greek standards, is high in all age groups. Voters aged 17 to 30 and 31 to 40 account for 31.8 per cent of the registered voters. Citizens aged 41 to 50 and 51 to 60 account for 38.2 per cent, while those over 61 years old account for 30.1 per cent.
Important notes:
Any questions are answered in the fields “more information” or “problem report” on the platform, by calling +30 210 626 6222 24/7, or by contacting a local KEP for those residing abroad, with the competent Greek Consular Authority.
Greeks residing abroad who do not have taxisnet codes can complete the certification using a combination of Greek passport and Greek police identity card details (both must be valid) or passport and residence registration number.
The ballot envelope will be sent by the Ministry of the Interior via courier in May.
Collection is mandatory either by the voter themselves or by a third party authorised to do so, with the authentication of a genuine signature via gov.gr or by a public authority.
The voter is notified by email about the dispatch of the envelope and a tracking link for its monitoring.
Read more: Editorial: Register for postal voting to strengthen the Greek Diaspora
Source link : https://neoskosmos.com/en/2024/04/29/news/community/final-day-for-postal-voting-registration-in-the-european-elections-with-just-745-greeks-from-oceania-signed-up/
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Publish date : 2024-04-29 03:00:00
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