Greeks of the diaspora will be able to participate in the upcoming national elections in the form of postal voting, as all relevant provisions of the Interior Ministry’s bill secured the backing of at least 200 lawmakers during Wednesday’s vote in Parliament.
By contrast, the articles establishing a new three-seat overseas constituency did not receive the required two-thirds majority of the plenary but were approved by a simple majority. As a result, the new constituency will take effect in the elections following the next national contest.
Before the vote, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis stressed that the bill on expatriate voting represents an opportunity to demonstrate responsibility and national unity.
Mitsotakis emphasized that “in times like these, the participation of our compatriots abroad in public affairs becomes a powerful link that strengthens our bonds with Hellenism across the globe, making our homeland stronger and our course in an uncertain environment more confident and optimistic.”
Mitsotakis: Democracy extends to diaspora through postal voting
The Prime Minister underlined that the bill “expands the reach of our democracy by broadening participation in public life to even more of our fellow citizens.” He described it as a reform that transcends narrow electoral cycles and, above all, grants equal rights to all Greeks regardless of where they reside.
“Today we will decide whether the voice of a compatriot in Melbourne, London, Frankfurt, or Toronto will carry the same weight as that of citizens in Athens, Thessaloniki, or Heraklion. This is a reform that has truly been delayed. It is an obvious obligation toward our fellow citizens living outside Greek territory, one that was repeatedly thwarted and proof that, unfortunately, the state often honored the diaspora in words and in theory, but not in practice. In practice, it hesitated to make them part of developments in the motherland. That changes now. We move from promises to action.”
The Prime Minister also highlighted what he called the “bold institutional change” of creating a special overseas constituency that he described as “a significant reform that restores the spirit of the Constitution, which seeks the authentic representation of the diaspora in the Greek Parliament.”
Voters casting ballots abroad, he noted, will not only express party preference but will also be able, through preferential voting as is the case for voters within Greece, to choose specific candidates and send their own representatives to Parliament.
He concluded by calling on all parties to support the bill as a choice of national responsibility and democratic sensitivity, not because the Constitution mandates it, but because it is the right and responsible course toward global Hellenism. Each party’s stance, he said, would reflect how it responds to the current circumstances and whether political forces can agree on major national issues despite significant differences.
“I cannot think of anything more important than demonstrating in practice how the Greek state understands its relationship with our global diaspora,” Mitsotakis concluded.
Related: Postal Voting for Greeks Living Abroad Approved for European Elections
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