By Antonis Anzoletou

It is the “medicine” against abstinence postal vote; Probably yes. The truth is that politicians and parties should inspire citizens to go to the polls and not “electoral gimmicks”. However, the possibility for everyone to vote even from their home is a modern practice that should have been implemented at some point in Greece as well. National elections, municipal, regional and European elections, all the latest contests show that the world has turned its back on politics. In June abstention reached 47.17%, surpassing the previous record of September 2015, when it had reached 43.84%. Abstention has been consistently above 35% for the last 14 years, always counting the delays in clearing the electoral rolls. On the second Sunday of the municipal elections, it is characteristic that, where polling stations were set up, abstention climbed to very high percentages. In the regional elections it reached 64.84% and in the municipal elections to 59.29%.

In June, it will not only be easier for expatriates to exercise their right to vote, but for many categories of voters who live in Hellas for whom physical presence at the polls is not easy. People with disabilities, pupils, students and seasonal tourism workers will be some of the categories that will be greatly helped. It is certainly a measure that will move a large part of the moderate public who in recent years might have chosen abstinence from the public. Encouraging people to participate in the top democratic process is not tampering with the election result, quite the opposite. Of course, ensuring secrecy and safeguards, so that there is no double vote, are basic prerequisites for the law to be passed. And the work of the opposition as a whole should be focused on this field. The “election buses” and plastic flags of the 80s are long gone. Mass trips to the district’s blue, green and red coffeehouses gave way to outings by individual voters, in some cases fares may have remained. Postal voting will mark a new modern era in the electoral process.

The situation calls for a large turnout next June. Two wars broke out in the interval from the verdict on the European Parliament of May 2019. The precision and the energy crisis have changed the facts in the wider region, while the old continent also went through a very difficult period due to the pandemic. The 21 representatives who will be invited to represent the country in Brussels and Strasbourg will have to deal with the major issues of immigration, the climate crisis, and the rise of the extreme right. Stefanos Kasselakis is already preparing tours in USA, Canada, Australia, S. Africa, but also in many European cities. The other political leaders are expected to act accordingly, emphasizing the expatriate community.

It is recalled that voting by mail for European elections and referendums requires a simple majority in Parliament, but for national elections things are not so simple, as an enhanced majority of 200 “yes” is required. It is certain that this specific measure will be discussed for the rest of the electoral procedures as well. The Minister of the Interior, Niki Kerameos, and the Deputy Minister Theodoros Livanios started the consultations with the parties by meeting Sokratis Famellos and Theofilos Xanthopoulos from SYRIZA.