First the Dutch, then the Irish and the Czechs. From today it's our turn too. The 2024 European elections have officially begun with over 360 million EU citizens called to the polls to elect the 720 representatives who will sit at the European Parliament in the next five years.
The calendar of the 2024 European elections
The citizens of the inaugurated the long 4-day electoral session valid for the European elections Netherlands who voted on Thursday 6 June. According to the exit polls, the Labor-Green coalition led by Frans Timmermans would have the advantage and would have won 8 seats, one more than the 7 assigned to the Party for Freedom (PVV), Geert Wilders' far-right formation that won the last elections Dutch.
On Friday, however, it was the turn of Ireland e Czech Republic, while today, together withItaly, they will go to the vote Latvia, Slovakia, Czech Republic and Malta. Italy and the Czech Republic are the only two EU nations to have citizens vote on two different days. The true election day will be Sunday 9 June, with 20 other member states voting (and the second day at the polls for the Italians).
Regardless of the day you vote, the counting will begin for everyone, at the same time, on Sunday evening after the polls closed.
European elections 2024: when do you vote in Italy?
In Italy we vote on Saturday and Sunday. Today the polls will be open from 15pm to 23pm, while On Sunday it will be possible to vote from 7am to 23pm. The same dates and times will also be valid for municipal and regional elections in Piedmont.
European elections 2024: who can vote and what documents are needed?
They can vote i Italian citizens of age and European citizens living in Italy (the latter provided they have applied). THE Italian citizens who reside in another state member of the EU and are registered with the AIRE, they can choose to vote in the country of residence at the sections established ad hoc by the consular offices. The same applies to voters temporarily domiciled in a European country for work, study or health reasons and who have submitted the appropriate application by 21 March. THE citizens residing in a non-EU country, however, they will not be able to take advantage of remote voting but must physically go to the municipality of residence within the time established for citizens residing on Italian soil.
Allowed on out-of-town vote to the 23 thousand students and workers (out of 500 thousand eligible candidates) who live in Italy but far from their municipality of residence and who submitted the request by May 5th.
To vote, you must show a valid identification document and your electoral card at the polling station.
European elections 2024: how do you vote?
According to EU law, all member countries must use a proportional electoral system, which means that the allocation of seats occurs in such a way as to ensure that the various lists have a number of places proportional to the votes received.
The voter will be given a single card with the list symbols contained in the boxes. To vote, simply tick the party flag or the box.
In our country the preference vote: each voter can therefore indicate, within the same list, from one to three preferences, voting, in the case of two or three preferences, for candidates of different sexes. To do this, write next to the symbol the surname or the name and surname (or the term by which it is commonly known and specified in the list through the words "said" or "detta") of a candidate or candidates from the list to which you are referring. wants to assign their vote. If no preferences are indicated, the vote will go to the leader. Split voting is not permitted, it is therefore not possible to indicate the symbol of the list and the name of a candidate who belongs to another.
European elections 2024: the five constituencies
Italy was divided into five constituencies which correspond to different colored cards:
- Gray for constituency I – Northwest Italy (Piedmont, Valle d'Aosta, Liguria, Lombardy).
- Brown for constituency II – North-eastern Italy (Veneto, Trentino-Alto Adige, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Emilia Romagna);
- Ruby red for constituency III – central Italy (Tuscany, Umbria, Marche, Lazio).
- Orange for constituency IV – southern Italy (Abruzzo, Molise, Campania, Puglia, Basilicata, Calabria).
- Pink for constituency V – Insular Italy (Sicily, Sardinia).
Each constituency is assigned a certain number of seats based on the population that resides there. Once the number of seats allocated to the list in each constituency has been determined, the candidates with the highest number of preference votes are proclaimed elected. One expected barrier threshold, which for the lists is equal to 4%
The Italian candidates for the 2024 European elections
The candidates for the European elections, presented on the list by each party or political group, are Italian citizens who have turned 25 by the day set for the elections, or citizens of other member countries, resident in Italy and registered in the specific added lists, who possess the eligibility requirements for the European Parliament established by Italian law and have not lost their right to stand for election in their Member State of origin.
Sul Ministry of the Interior website is available the complete list of candidates in the European elections for each party and in each of the five constituencies.
How many MEPs does Italy elect
Members of the European Parliament are elected every five years. To date there have been 705, including the president. After the elections, following a redistribution for demographic reasons, they will become 720. Each member state has the right to a fixed number of representatives in numbers proportional to the population. They range from 6 for smaller member states such as Malta, Luxembourg and Cyprus to 96 in Germany. Italy is entitled to a total of 76 deputies, five less than France (81), 15 more than Spain (61).
The latest polls
In 2019, turnout stopped at 50,7%, a percentage that could drop further in this election cycle.
According to the latest polls, at European level, the popular (EPP, centre-right) would confirm themselves as the first group in the European Parliament, followed by the socialists (PSE, centre-left). The conservatives could follow Erg and liberals.
In Italy, the first party should be FdI which, based on the latest Ipsos survey carried out on May 23rd for Corriere della Sera, would stand at 26,5%, the Democratic Party it would instead be 22,5%. In the internal battle within the centre-right, it would be a head-to-head battle between Forza Italy (9,2%) and Alloy (8,6%). The Movement 5 Stars it is estimated at 15,4%.
As for the smaller parties, Green Left Alliance e United States of Europe they should exceed the threshold, reaching 4,6% and 4,1% respectively. Slightly below the bar Carlo Calenda with Action, estimated at 3,6%.
