European Parliament election: How are the polls conducted, who can vote?

Yes, the big Indian election is over. Now the focus has shifted to the European Parliament, where voting will take place from 6 June to 9 June in of the biggest global democratic events this year.

As many as 400 million citizens are ready to vote this time in the EU elections. There is a lot at stake. Voters are concerned about the wars in Gaza and Ukraine, the European economy and jobs.

Amid this, political parties try to garner more power and the voters’ trust. Currently, the biggest question is whether European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will continue to be in the role or be replaced.

When will the elections be held for the European Parliament?

This will be the 10th parliamentary election to be held for the 27-member bloc. Voting is scheduled to take place from 6 June to 9 June. Results can only be revealed on the evening of 9 June, once polling stations have closed in all member states.

How does the election work?

The elections will begin on a Thursday in the Netherlands and conclude on a Sunday, when most countries hold the polls. The voting is done by direct universal suffrage in a single ballot.

The number of members elected in each country depends on the size of the population. It ranges from six for Malta, Luxembourg and Cyprus to 96 for Germany. In 2019, Europeans elected 751 lawmakers. Following the United Kingdom’s departure from the EU in 2020, the number of MEPs (member of European Parliament) fell to 705. Some of the 73 seats previously held by British MEPs had been redistributed to other member states.

After the election, the European Parliament will have 15 additional members, bringing the total to 720. Twelve countries will get extra MEPs. Elections are contested by national political parties, but once they are elected, most of the lawmakers then join transnational political groups.

Who is eligible to vote?

Interestingly, people under 18 are allowed to vote in some countries. In Belgium, a law formed in 2022 lowered the minimum voting age to 16 while Germany, Malta and Austria are also permitting 16-year-olds to vote. In Greece, the youngest voting age is 17. In all other member states, the age remains 18. A minimum age is also required to stand for election — from 18 in most countries to 25 in Italy and Greece.

What will be voter turnout?

European Union elections usually don’t bring a huge turnout, but there was a clear upturn in public interest in the 2019 election. At 50.7 per cent, the turnout was eight points higher than in 2014 after steadily falling since 1979, when it reached 62 per cent. In April, the latest edition of the European Parliament’s Eurobarometer highlighted a surge of interest in the upcoming election. Around 71 per cent of Europeans said they are likely to cast a ballot.

What are the main issues facing European Parliament?

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine is at the forefront of citizens’ minds, with defence and security seen as key campaign issues. At the national level, the EU’s defence and security was mentioned first in nine countries. The economy, jobs, poverty and social exclusion, public health, climate change and the future of Europe are also featuring prominently as issues.

What do EU lawmakers do?

The European Parliament is the only EU institution to be elected by European citizens. It’s a real counterpower to the powerful EU’s executive arm, the European Commission.

The parliament doesn’t have the initiative of proposing legislation. But its powers are getting bigger. It is now competent on a wide range of topics, voting on laws relating to climate, banking rules, agriculture, fisheries, security or justice. The legislature also votes on the EU budget, which is crucial to the implementation of European policies, including, for instance, the aid delivered to Ukraine.

Lawmakers are also a key element of the check and balances system since they need to approve the nomination of all EU commissioners, who are the equivalent of ministers. And it can also force the whole commission to resign with a vote by a two-third majority.

 What is the current makeup of the Parliament?

With 176 seats out of 705 as of the end of the last plenary session in April, the center-right European People’s Party is the largest political group in the European Parliament. Von der Leyen belongs to the EPP and hopes to remain at the helm of the EU’s executive arm after the election.

The second-largest group is the S&D, the political group of the center-left Party of European Socialists, which currently holds 139 seats. The liberal and pro-European Renew group holds 102 seats ahead of an alliance made up of green and regionalist political parties that holds 72 seats.

 What can we expect from the results?

Two groups with far-right parties, the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) and Identity and Democracy (ID), could be headed to becoming the third- and fourth-largest political groups at the European Parliament. The two groups have many divergences and it’s unclear to what extent they could team up and affect the EU’s agenda, especially the EU’s efforts to support Ukraine against Russia in the war.

The EPP and S&D are expected to remain stable. Liberals and greens could both take a hit after they made big gains at the previous election.

What will happen after the election?

Once the weight of each political force is determined, MEPs will elect their president at the first plenary session, from July 16-19. Then, most likely in September after weeks of negotiations, they will nominate the president of the European Commission, following a proposal made by the member states.

In 2019, von der Leyen won a narrow majority (383 votes in favor, 327 against, 22 abstentions) to become the first woman to head the institution. Parliamentarians will also hear from the European commissioners before approving them in a single vote.

Von der Leyen has good chances to be appointed for another team, but she needs to secure the support of enough leaders. She has also antagonized many lawmakers by suggesting she could work with the hard right depending on the outcome of the elections.

With inputs from AP