2023-05-17 15:00:50
It is now official, the European elections will be held from June 6 to 9, 2024 in the 28 countries of the European Union to elect their 705 MEPs. The ballot will thus be spread over four days, but there is no question for the nearly 430 million European voters to go to the polls several times! We explain to you why the European elections take place over several days.
Voting days that differ from country to country
This wide voting range over four days is intended to conform to the habits of each voting country. If, in France, all the polls are traditionally organized on Sunday, this is not the case throughout the European Union.
In the Netherlands, for example, the usual voting day is Wednesday. For greater convenience and not to spread the ballot further, the Dutch government has decided to organize the European elections on Thursday at national level. They will thus open the ball on June 6, 2024. Then come Ireland on Friday, then Latvia, Malta and Slovakia on Saturday, in accordance with what is done for the other elections.
In the Czech Republic, a two-day ballot
The Czech system is an exception. Indeed, the elections are generally spread over two days in the country, whatever the ballot. The offices are first open on Friday from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m., then on Saturday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. The European elections are no exception to this habit and will thus take place (barring a surprise) on 7 and 8 June.
In France too, we tend to forget it, but because of the time difference and the installation of polling stations for French people living abroad, the ballot actually begins on Saturday for some of our compatriots. The inhabitants of the overseas departments and regions and the French living on the American continent are thus invited to vote earlier than in mainland France.
However, the overwhelming majority of the European Union remains fixed on Sundays. In total, in addition to France, no less than twenty countries will go to the polls on June 9: Germany, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Croatia, Denmark, Spain, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia and Sweden.
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