Greece’s Interior Ministry has declared the country’s first postal voting ahead of last Sunday’s European Parliament elections a success, despite a lower-than-expected turnout and some issues with the system.
According to Ekathimerini, 202,515 people registered to vote by mail between mid-February and end-April when the platform for the procedure was open. However, just 152,216 managed to do so successfully, of which 115,571 were in Greece and 36,645 abroad.
The cause for the failed vote is said to be in the processes, which included not just filling out the ballot delivered by registered mail to voters’ doors, but also a signed statement of participation and a photocopy of their identity cards. Many voters are believed to have overlooked one or more of these processes.
The ministry will be examining what exactly went wrong and what can be improved for future as it plans to expand postal voting into the next parliamentary elections.
Source: Ekathimerini
