How Greeks abroad voted

In the 2023 parliamentary elections, for the first time, Greeks abroad were able to exercise the right to vote at their place of residence without having to come to their homeland for this. And they did it quite actively.

Italy

In Italy, 373 Greek citizens were registered in the electoral rolls, writes newsbreak.gr. Ambassador Eleni Surani notes: “The elections in Italy’s three constituencies went absolutely smoothly and with great participation.”

To implement Greek suffrage in Italy, three polling stations were established: at the Greek embassy in Rome, at the Greek community of Milan, and at the Institute of Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Studies in Venice. After the election, Ms. Surani emphasized:

“The elections in Italy’s three constituencies went absolutely smoothly and with great participation. Despite adverse weather conditions in many regions of the country, our compatriots from all over Italy traveled to Rome, Milan and Venice to exercise their right to vote. The desire of our fellow citizens to vote is evidenced by the fact that we even had representatives from Sicily and Apulia. It would be remiss not to express gratitude to the Italian authorities for their help in making this day a celebration of democracy for all of us who participated in the electoral process.”

France

In France, more than a thousand Greeks registered on the electoral rolls came to the polls in Paris, Nice, Strasbourg and Nantes. The French media covered the course of the elections. The newspaper Les Échos published a whole series of analytical articles and materials: “Greece succeeds despite difficulties”, “Greece. A Two-Speed ​​Economic Miracle, How Mitsotakis Became a Prominent Figure on the European Right. Of course, political newspapers, as well as radio and television channels, did not lag behind the economic newspaper:

• Figaro: “The return of political instability to Greece”;
• Monde: “Mitsotakis wants a second term against instability”;
• Liberation talks about “political instability” and “voter apathy”, focusing on the acute problems of Greek youth.
• France Info shows the report “Parliamentary elections in Greece: between inflation and economic recovery, voters waver between right and left”;
• France24: “Greece, economy, the main stake in the parliamentary elections”;
• BFMTV: “The Greek economy has recovered.”

Great Britain

Greek voting in the United Kingdom began on Saturday at 9 o’clock. There were 4,938 people on the voter lists, for whom 12 polling stations were opened across the country: 8 in London (3,982 registered) and one each in Edinburgh (282), Glasgow (150), Birmingham (274) and Leeds (250).

Belgium

The electoral process in Belgium went smoothly, with four polling stations open from 7 am to 7 pm – three in Brussels and one in Antwerp. 1387 out of 1630 registered voters voted.

Thomas Thomopoulos, press adviser at the Greek embassy in Belgium, described the day as “historic, as for the first time Greek voters exercised their right to vote by domicile abroad”:

“The process was completed successfully, everything went smoothly. We were pleased with the active participation of people, especially young people. It was a festive day for the Greeks of Belgium and many came to exercise their right to vote, families came with their children.”

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