EU changes electoral law of European Parliament

ANKARA

The European Parliament on Tuesday adopted a legislative proposal that envisages reforming the law on parliamentary elections in all countries within the borders of the European Union.

The parliament launched a reform of the EU Electoral Law to transform a total of 27 separate elections and their different rules into a single European election.

The draft legislative act was approved by 323 votes for, 262 against and 48 abstentions, and the accompanying resolution with 331 votes for, 257 against and 52 abstentions.

According to the system developed by the members of parliament, each voter would have two votes; one to elect deputies in national constituencies and the other in an EU-wide constituency consisting of 28 additional seats.

To ensure balanced geographical representation in these lists, member states will be divided into three groups depending on the size of their populations.

The lists were to be filled proportionally with candidates from these groups.

EU-wide candidate lists must be submitted by coalitions of national political parties and/or European electoral organizations such as national voter associations.

The parliament also wants to combat gender inequality and emphasized that despite the general improvement in recent elections, some countries have not elected a single female deputy.

The text proposes mandatory "zipped lists" alternating between male and female candidates or quotas without violating the rights of non-binary persons.

Furthermore, other proposals to “Europeanize” the elections include determining May 9 as the common European voting day and the right to be able to cast a vote for all Europeans who are 18 years old or older.

There are also proposals such as the introduction of a 3.5% threshold in constituencies that send more than 60 deputies and the ability to vote by mail.

A new European Electoral Authority will be established to oversee the process and ensure compliance with the new rules.