ND resubmits Greek diaspora vote proposal
In the wake of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’s visit to the US last week and the praise he showered on Greeks living abroad, conservative New Democracy leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Monday resubmitted to Parliament his proposal to give diaspora Greeks the right to vote in Greek elections.
The opposition chief also questioned why his original proposal, tabled 18 months ago, has yet to be put up for debate.
“Today, more than ever, we must grant this right, not just to ethnic Greeks who left the country decades ago but also to young people who, in their hundreds of thousands, left the country during the years of the crisis,” Mitsotakis said in a statement.
“This self-evident right should finally be consolidated in legislation. There is no excuse for not bringing the legislative proposal up for discussion in Parliament,” he said.
Mitsotakis added that Tsipras should have taken the initiative to acknowledge the importance of granting all Greeks living abroad the right to vote in Greek elections during his US visit.
Other New Democracy officials also accused Tsipras of hypocrisy, saying that despite his praise of the diaspora, he has refused to bring the legislative proposal to Parliament for discussion.
The proposal stipulates that Greek citizens living abroad who want to vote must inform the relevant Greek consulate in their country of residence no later than 60 days before the election.
