Understanding the Electoral System and Voting Process in the European Parliament Elections
On 9th June, citizens of the EU member states will cast their votes to elect 720 Members of the European Parliament. Germany will send the largest delegation with 96 members, while Malta, Luxembourg, and Cyprus will have six members each. This distribution is based on degressive proportionality, where the number of members depends on the population size of the member states.
The electoral system for the European elections is based on the Electoral Act of the European Union from 1976, which mandates proportional representation in all EU member states. Seats in the European Parliament are allocated based on the proportion of votes received by parties and organizations. For example, a party receiving 30% of the votes will also receive around 30% of the seats in the parliament.
In Germany, voters have one vote in the European elections, unlike the federal elections where they have a first and second vote. The European Elections Act in Germany allows citizens to vote for a party or political organization that has put forward a list of candidates. Parties create lists of candidates, and the more votes a party receives, the more candidates from its list enter the parliament.
After the election, Members of the European Parliament usually join one of the seven political groups represented in the Parliament based on their political orientation. However, they can also choose not to join any group.
The ballot paper for the European elections lists the participating parties and political organizations with their lists, sorted by their performance in the last European election in the respective federal state. The lists contain the names, professions, residence of the candidates in order as stipulated by the European Elections Act.
Currently, there is no threshold for German parties in the European elections, unlike the federal elections where parties must receive at least 5% of the second votes to enter the Bundestag. However, from the 2029 election onwards, each member state must introduce a threshold, with the European Union proposing a minimum threshold of 2% and a maximum of 5%.
A proposed electoral reform includes the introduction of a second vote and transnational lists with European candidates to strengthen the lead candidate principle. This reform aims to have the President of the Commission come from the winning party. Although there is no agreement yet, a possible implementation is not expected before the 2029 European elections.
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