EnetEnglish.gr, 00:24 Friday 28 February 2014
Last call for EU voters
European Union citizens wishing to vote in May's local and European Union elections have until February 28 to register
To register in special electoral rolls, EU citizens must present themselves to their local municipality by February 28, produce a valid identity document (passport or ID card) and fill out the relevant formal declaration form. No additional documents are required
Are you a European Union citizen living permanently in Greece and wish to exercise your right to vote or stand in May’s municipal and European elections? If so, then Friday 28 February is the deadline to get your name in the special electoral register at your local municipality.
To be eligible to register, applicants must born before 31 December 1996 (ie be at least 18 by the end of this year) and must not have been deprived of the right to vote either in Greece or in their home country.
To register in special electoral rolls, EU citizens must present themselves to their local municipality, produce a valid identity document (passport or ID card) and fill out the relevant formal declaration form. No additional documents are required.
Under existing rules, while EU citizens living in the country can vote and stand in European and municipal elections, they are not entitled to a cast a ballot in the regional elections.
EU citizens wishing to vote for political parties and candidates from their home state should check with their local embassy or consulate to see if this is possible.
In 2010 local elections, 14,961 EU citizens voted in Greece, far more than the 6,530 who voted in the last European elections, held the previous year.
The rights of EU citizens to vote at municipal and European parliament level in Greece were not affected by a recent change in the law that stripped third-country nationals and Greek expatriates without Greek citizenship of their vote.
* The interior ministry website provides detailed information for EU citizens wishing to register for or stand in the municipal and/or European Parliament elections. For more information, contact your local municipality or citizen service centre (KEP); phone the elections directorate at interior ministry at 213-136-1252, -1135 or -1128 or email e.atmatzidou@ypes.gr , p.ponirou@ypes.gr and th.garoufalis@ypes.gr