Three scenarios for European elections
Government to maintain ballots with crosses, with final decisions expected after local polls
The government is reportedly examining three scenarios for the division of the country into constituencies for the European Parliament elections next year, with their number ranging from five to seven.
It is also planning to maintain ballots with crosses in order to keep candidates’ interest strong and to ensure that they are mobilized in the runup to the elections.
“The European elections are political elections that we are very interested in,” a government source told Kathimerini.
The final decisions on the number of regions and individual procedural issues are expected after the local elections. In any event, this will most likely be before Christmas, so as to allow the parties enough time to adapt to the new data with which they will run in the elections.
According to the scenarios on the table, each region will have a different ballot paper and the number of members of the European Parliament from each will be different, as this figure will be calculated on the basis of population.
There are three options under consideration. These entail dividing the country into seven, six or five regions.
In the first case, the constituencies would be seven, and would be exactly as the decentralized administrations are today. More specifically, Attica and Eastern Macedonia & Thrace will each comprise their own constituencies.
Epirus will be paired with Western Macedonia, while Thessaly will be grouped with Central Greece (Sterea Ellada). The Peloponnese will be placed together with Western Greece and the Ionian Sea region. The other two are the Aegean and Crete.
The second scenario envisages six constituencies with the absorption of one of the above.
The third scenario foresees the constituencies becoming five.
In this last case one region will comprise the Peloponnese, Western Greece, Epirus and the Ionian Sea.
The criteria for final selection will not just be population-based, but will also consider the needs of each region, which is why they have not yet been determined.
What is for certain is that the members of the European Parliament elected in each region will be determined by the population of that region.
Greece as a whole elects 21 MEPs.
