According to the ‘Euronews’ Polling Center, there could be a large abstention in these elections. Still, there are some countries where participation is expected to increase.
On the occasion of the European elections, more than 350 million voters go to the polls to elect the representatives of the European Parliament who will determine the future of the bloc. Focusing on the polls, one of the key aspects that observers follow closely is electoral participation and abstentionism.
On Saturday they will vote in five European Union countries: Slovakia, Latvia, the Czech Republic and Malta, the smallest member of the EU. In Italy, voting is also held on June 8 and will continue on Sunday, June 9.
But as in other countries where voting has already closed, such as the Netherlands and Ireland, observers and voters alike are waiting until Sunday evening, June 9, to find out the result.
The poll by Dutch public broadcaster ‘NOS’, carried out among 20,000 voters, predicted that the center-left alliance would obtain eight of the 31 seats in the country’s European Parliament.
In the Netherlands, some 31 seats of the 720 seats in the European Parliament are at stake.
Observers warn that a significant increase in abstention is “likely”…
Tomasz Kanievcky, analyst at the ‘Euronews Polling Center’, states: “We cannot forget that we are not talking about a European election, but about 27 national ones. Therefore, The approach to abstentionism will undoubtedly be different depending on the country. in which these elections are held, and according to the current issues that are at stake”.
The gaze is also directed to Cypruswhere concern is growing about possible abstention and an increase in blank and null votes.
The problems are related to a local government reform that requires voters to cast between six and 10 ballots, a complexity that has frustrated both voters and election participants.
In response, Cypriot President Nicos Christodoulides encouraged voters to go to the polls: “The European elections concern us all. Massive turnout will send a strong message about the importance we attach to a stronger, more resilient Europe, “more strategically autonomous, more united and, of course, more efficient.”
In the last European elections in 2019, the highest abstention rate was recorded in Slovakia. It remains to be seen if after the assassination attempt of anti-European left-wing populist Prime Minister Robert Fico, the trend is reversed.
It will confront “those who want less Europe and, then, the political forces that understand that in the world of tomorrow a much more integrated European Union is needed to defend the interests of Europeans,” added Verhofstadt.
The vote is the second largest democratic exercise, behind the elections in India, as the 27-nation bloc will elect with decisive votes the 720 parliamentarians who will serve them for the next five years.
