The bill of the Ministry of the Interior establishing, for the first time in Greece, the postal vote as a means of facilitating the exercise of the electoral right of voters for the European elections and the national referenda, will be introduced in the Plenary today at noon. The bill does not grant voting rights. However, it facilitates the exercise of the right to vote as all Greeks who have the right to vote, both those who live abroad and those who live in Greece and wish to, will now be able to vote by mail. Following the 2014 European elections, which saw a record low voter turnout in Europe, the European Union encouraged member states to adopt, among other things, postal voting, for the convenience of voters and with the aim of increasing turnout.

During the drafting phase of the bill in the competent parliamentary committee, New Democracy, SYRIZA, PASOK said “yes” in principle. “No” declared KKE and Niki. Greek Solution, Spartans, New Left and Freedom Sailing have declared reservations for their final position in the plenary session. The Conference of Presidents has decided to allocate up to three meetings, as it estimates that many MPs will sign up to take the floor, while on Tuesday interventions from political leaders are also expected.

The postal vote was mentioned yesterday Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. “This is a historic reform for our country, and I am primarily happy because we are implementing our commitment to expatriate Greeks. We make it easier for them to exercise their right to vote, thus strengthening even more their unbreakable bond with the homeland. But I am also happy because our initiative secured a broad majority in the relevant committee of the Parliament. Tomorrow Monday it will be introduced to the Plenary and I will have the opportunity to point out how important it is that such major changes, changes that promote the participation of citizens outside and inside Greece in the elections, are supported by all political forces. Because in the end, this is how Democracy is strengthened and with it society’s trust in politics”, said Mr. Mitsotakis.

The Ministry of the Interior has underlined that for the methodology and design of the postal vote, considerable weight was given to the full and strict satisfaction of the instructions of the Office of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and therefore with the set provisions:

  • the creation of an electronic application for the submission of voters’ applications for the possibility of exercising their right to vote by postal vote is established. There is no restriction other than the registration of the voter in the electoral rolls. There is also no geographical restriction or the invocation of any reason for choosing the postal vote.
  • Applications can be submitted to the online application up to forty (40) days before the election. The voter enters the application with his personal codes-credentials of the G.G.P.S.P.S.D. (taxisnet) and the application is confirmed using a one-time password on a mobile phone and e-mail (One Time Password), which increases the level of security.
  • Political parties or candidates are not involved in the process, either in sending or receiving the files. Severe penalties are provided for anyone who distributes the voting envelope or opens it without the provisions of the law.
  • The envelopes must be in the hands of the Postal Ballot Collection Committee by 17:00 (i.e. the evening before the election day. The timely dispatch of all relevant materials by the Ministry of the Interior to the electors (twenty days before the date conduct) ensures that the dossiers reach voters in time and that they have sufficient time to express their preference.
  • the bill clearly states the deadline for receipt of applications by the Postal Ballot Collection Committee. Regarding the validity of the ballot, all the cases are listed exhaustively.
  • the vote counting procedures, the counting place, the start time of vote sorting, the result extraction process are described in detail
  • it is clearly defined that the parties can nominate representatives both in the Postal Vote Collection Committee and also in the Electoral Committees for Sorting the Postal Vote.

The political leadership of the Ministry of the Interior has underlined that all precautions have been taken for a safe procedure which respects all the conditions and best practices, but also the European guidelines, in particular for the authenticity of the expression of the popular will and the secrecy of the vote and in this direction:

  • Voters’ applications are made in a special electronic application with the voter’s credentials, while a single-use code is used using a mobile phone and email (Article 8). also using the “my kep live” service.
  • A voter who has declared that he wishes to exercise his right to vote by mail cannot vote in person, except under very specific conditions in the event that he did not send the return envelope or the envelope was not received in time, in order to prevent possibility of double voting (par. 6 of article 21).
  • The Postal Ballot Collection Committees and the Postal Ballot Sorting Electoral Committees are chaired by a judge and their members are lawyers. Correspondingly, voters cannot be appointed as members of the electoral committees in the Electoral Committees for the Selection of Postal Votes (articles 15 and 16).
  • The special ballot boxes for the safekeeping of envelopes for the return of postal votes are sealed daily with a special procedure and there is continuous recording on closed circuit television of the places where they are located. The material is kept at the Court of First Instance of Athens for three years. The Hellenic Police undertakes the guarding of the area (par. 4 and 5 article 10).
  • A General Registrar, Vice-President or member of the Supreme Court is appointed, who oversees the entire process (Article 18).
  • The voter follows the progress of his file with a tracking system, as soon as it is sent by the Ministry of the Interior. (par. 4 of article 11).
  • The postal and courier service companies also operate on the eve of the election day, so that the postal votes arrive in time (par. 2 of article 14).
  • Special care is taken in cases of replacement of the voter’s application and the ballot paper without jeopardizing the secrecy of the vote (Article 12).
  • The voting envelopes, where the ballot is located, are completely anonymous and cannot be identified with the voter (Article 12).