Interior Minister Theodoros Livanios spoke about the government’s new law creating a separate electoral district exclusively for diaspora Greeks and the ongoing discussion around postal voting for national elections on Parapolitika 90.1 radio show “Opposite Microphones” with hosts Sotiris Xenakis and Vasilis Skouris.
New electoral district exclusively for diaspora voters
When asked what the new electoral district for diaspora Greeks means, he explained: “It’s quite simple. In 2023, when overseas voters participated in national elections for the first time, they voted for state-level party lists, so they couldn’t authentically choose their representative in the new Parliament. This was also a longstanding demand from many Greek diaspora organizations – to have a distinct electoral district. So the government’s proposal is to establish a 3-seat electoral district, with state-level seats reduced from 15 back to 12 as they were before, allowing Greeks living abroad with voting rights to choose who will represent them in Parliament.”
“The way the electoral law functions, the total seats allocated to parties are not affected by establishing this electoral district.
Parties represented in parliament haven’t necessarily elected state-level MPs. We’re returning to the previous number of 12 seats, and from there we’ll also have three MPs representing diaspora Greeks.
It includes preferential voting with crosses, depending on candidates nominated by parties. These should be recognizable figures across large geographical regions.
For implementation, the electoral district needs approval from 200 MPs. If it doesn’t achieve this majority, it will take effect from the following elections,” he explained.
Postal voting
Regarding postal voting, he emphasized: “We have a substantial development – a meaningful change in conditions through implementing postal voting in European elections. This was a new proposal never practically applied in Greece before. Having this experience, we’re proposing to facilitate voters in exercising their rights through postal voting.
The concept is that once approved – requiring 200 votes – any voter who wants can register on the platform, and when elections are announced, they’ll receive all relevant materials within days. They’ll select their preferred party and candidate, send back the envelope, following exactly the same process used in European elections. It’s particularly interesting because the number of voters in European elections essentially doubled.”
Asked about prerequisites, he said: “There are no restrictions. Anyone who wants can register for postal voting in national elections and receive postal ballot materials, provided they’re registered in electoral rolls. Electoral roll registration is automatic – all Greek citizens have this right, but they must submit an application for postal voting. The plan is that applications will close the day after Parliament’s dissolution. If Parliament dissolves on Monday, by Tuesday midnight Greek time, overseas voters who wish can submit applications.”
When asked if postal voting will be available domestically, he stated that “for national elections, postal voting isn’t available for residents of Greece.”
