PM says government plans to extend postal voting to general elections

The Greek government will submit by the end of the year a regulation that would expand postal voting rights  for the national elections, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Thursday.

“Let’s look at the big picture. Any measure that increases participation in elections is in the right direction. This measure should also apply to the national elections, and the particularity will be that whoever votes by pos, will vote on the country-wide ticket,” he told Parapolitika radio station.

For this bill to pass, it will have to secure 200 parliamentary votes.

The government introduced last January mail-in voting rights for European Parliament elections, as well as national referendums. The provision was initially expected to pass by extended majority, but a surprise amendment introduced by the Interior Ministry to include national elections triggered the outrage of opposition parties which accused Minister Niki Kerameus of undermining the hard-won consensus on the bill. Eventually the bill received solely the 158 votes of ruling New Democracy party.