Dossier written by Emilie Melvin
European elections have been held every five years, and by direct universal suffrage since 1979. The Treaty of Amsterdam, which entered into force in 1999, lays down the general provisions providing a minimum harmonisation of national election practices. This means that members of the European Parliament are elected by proportional representation and the Member States can decide on a minimum threshold for a candidate or a list, not exceeding 5%. Since the Treaty of Maastricht brought in European citizenship in 1992, Europeans have the possibility to vote or to stand as a candidate in their country of residence, rather than just in their country of origin, under the same conditions as nationals of that country. Around 500 million Europeans are represented by the members of the European Parliament.
With the accession of Bulgaria and Romania, the 2009 elections will, for the first time, cover 27 countries, making them the largest trans-national elections in history. Voting arrangements differ between the Member States and are based on the national laws of each. The ballot takes place either using regional or inter-regional constituencies, or under a system of a single national constituency, or under a system whereby candidates put themselves forward at the level of one or more regions (e.g. Länder) or at national level. Each Member State will organise the voting on the basis of its own customs at some point between Thursday 4 and Sunday 7 June. The results, however, will be counted simultaneously and announced on the Sunday evening.
The system for the distribution of the seats has been modified according to the provisions of the Treaty of Nice. Only Slovenia, Cyprus, Estonia, Malta and Luxembourg will keep their number of seats unchanged. 736 MEPs will be voted in next June in place of the 785 outgoing MEPs. The number of seats will be modified once again, with a total of 754 MEPs, once the Lisbon Treaty enters into force. Eighteen MEPs with provisional status will be voted in. They could have observer status without voting rights until the Treaty has been ratified. However, this way of doing things may still cause problems for some of the Member States.
Potential impact of parallel voting on European elections
Since the first European elections in 1979, the turnout rate has dropped with each successive election. Turnout for the European elections started off at a level of 61.99% and has fallen over the years to 45.47% in 2004. At the same time, the number of MEPs has been constantly increasing, alongside a considerable increase in the powers of the Parliament. A total of 160 million Europeans voted in 2004, and another 190 million stayed at home, as the Parliament represented around 350 million citizens at the time. In 2004, Poland and Slovakia had the lowest turnout rates of the 25 Member States: 21% and 17% respectively. This lack of involvement, explains Zita Pleštinská, a Slovakian MEP EPP-ED party, is due to "a lack of information in the national media about European issues". Mieczyslaw Janowski (Poland, UEN) suggests that it could be down to a lack of knowledge about "European structures" and a "lack of awareness about the role of the Parliament". Since 2004, this lack of information about the European elections and the role of the Parliament has scarcely improved. Even so, the Parliament which will be elected to power next June will have direct influence over around 60 to 80% of the legislation implemented within the European Union.
In order to increase the turnout rate of the European elections, a number of Member States have tried to hold other ballots on the same day. Not many of the 27 countries do this; furthermore, some Member States have held elections before or after the European elections. These parallel elections may have positive or negative effects on the turnout rate, as well as on voter choice.
Some Member States have scheduled their national elections for the same day as the European ones: Belgian regional elections and Luxembourg parliamentary elections; a Danish referendum; German local elections; Irish, Latvian, Maltese and English local elections; and Italian administrative elections. Although they do seem to help to increase the turnout rate, these simultaneous elections may also be used by voters to let off a bit of stream or encourage them to distribute their votes, making it harder to analyse the results.
Seven countries will hold internal elections before or after the European elections, some of them even just a few weeks before or after: the first round of Lithuanian presidential elections on 10 or 17 May, the Bulgarian parliamentary elections and the second round of the Lithuanian presidential elections on 14 June. The closeness of the scheduling of the elections may have an impact on turnout, as people may not wish to make the effort twice. Germany, Austria and Estonia will hold national elections and Ireland a referendum, but these will be in September or October 2009.
The cases of Austria, Lithuania and Germany may be a bit trickier, because these three countries will have several days of different ballots held around the time of the European elections. Some Austrians will be voting in regional elections in their respective Länder during the months of March and September. The Lithuanians will have two rounds of their presidential elections, with the European ballot between the two. The 2009 has been described as "a super electoral year" for the Germans, as they will be voting 16 times in nine months, including 13 times between May and September. The case of Germany is particularly significant as it has the largest national delegation in the European Parliament.
European elections in each Member State
Germany
Germany votes in 99 MEPs (unchanged) to the European Parliament and has a single constituency.
Method of voting: Lists are closed (the order of the candidates is decided by the party itself and voters cannot express their preference for any particular candidate). Lists can be submitted by political parties or other political associations for a federal State (Bundesland) or as joint lists for all of the Federal States. Each member of the electorate has one vote. Only parties with at least 5% of the votes validly cast are included in the distribution of seats. The seats are allocated at Federal level, using the modified Sainte-Laguë method (the total number of votes for each party is subsequently divided by the figures 1.4/ 3/ 5/ 7…). Seats are allocated at Länder level using the Hare-Niemeyer method (the number of seats to be allocated multiplied by the number of votes won by a party. The result this gives is then divided by the total number of valid votes, which gives the number of seats to be distributed to the parties).
Cut-off point for submission of candidacy: The lists concerning a particular Land must be submitted no later than 66 days before the date of the ballot, which will be Thursday 2 April. Joint lists for all of the Länder must be in no later than the 68th day before the election, in this case Tuesday 31 March.
Date of voting: Sunday 7 June 2009
Representativeness: population of 82,200,200 -> around 830,805 inhabitants per MEP (1.01%).
Parallel elections: Municipal elections on Sunday 7 June: Baden-Württemberg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Rheinland-Pfalz, Saarland, and Sachsen-Anhalt; regional elections on Sunday 30 August: Saarland, Sachsen, and Thüringen; and federal parliamentary elections on Sunday 27 September.
Turnout 2004: 43%
Austria
Austria elects seven MEPs (-1) to the European Parliament (but this number will rise to 19 when the Lisbon Treaty enters into force) and forms a single constituency.
Method of voting: Lists are semi-open. The electorate must vote for a list and may also vote for a specific candidate within the list (preferential vote). Voters may only vote once. The Hare quota (total number of votes cast divided by the number of seats to be allocated) is used for the calculation. Seats are divided up using the Hondt method (each seat counts for one - the total number of votes cast for each party is divided by the following numerical sequence: 1, 2, 3, 4…). Seats are divided up at national level. Any list which fails to receive at least 4% of the total votes cast is excluded from the sharing-out of the seats. Seats are allocated on the basis of the number of votes won by each list. Once the seats have been allocated to the parties, they are then divided up between the candidates within these parties. Any candidate who wins a number of personal votes equivalent to 70% of the party's votes gets a seat; otherwise, the candidates are elected in the order in which they appear on the party's list.
Cut-off point for submission of candidacy: 37 days before the date of the election, in this case Friday 1 May
Date of voting: Sunday 7 June 2009
Representativeness: Total population of 8,327,200 -> around 489,835 inhabitants per MEP (5.88%).
Parallel elections: Regional elections in certain Austrian Länder: Landtag (regional assembly) of Kärnten and Salzburg on Sunday 1 March 2009, Vorarlberg on Sunday 20 September 2009, in Oberösterreich on
Sunday 27 September 2009.
Turnout 2004: 42,43 %
Belgium
Belgium elects 22 MEPs (-2) to the European Parliament, based on four constituencies (Flemish region, Walloon region, German-speaking community and Brussels Capital region) and three electoral colleges. 13 MEPs are elected by the Flemish-speaking electoral college (Flanders and Brussels); eight are elected by the French-speaking electoral college (Wallonia and Brussels) and one by the German-speaking college.
Method of voting: Lists are semi-open and voting is compulsory. The electorate votes for a party's list or for one or more candidates within a given party list (preferential vote). First of all, the seats are allocated to each party list in each electoral college by taking the total number of valid votes cast and applying the Hare formula. The electoral quota is then calculated using the Hondt method. Votes cast in favour of each party list are then divided by the electoral quota and the figure obtained represents the number of seats which will be allocated to each party list. Once the number of seats per list has been calculated, the next step consists of deciding which of the candidates appearing on these lists will be given a seat. The first decision criterion is the number of personal votes, whereby any candidate who has won a specific quota of the votes is elected. Then, if the candidate at the top of the list has not been voted in by means of personal votes alone, he or she receives as many votes as is necessary on the basis of the total won by the party to reach the quota. This process continues until all the seats won by a party have been allocated to the candidates of that party's list.
Cut-off point for submission of candidacy: the 58th or 57th day before the date of the election, in this case Friday 10 April or Saturday 11 April.
Date of voting: Sunday 7 June 2009
Representativeness: Total population of 10,660,800 -> 484,582 inhabitants per MEP (4.55%).
Parallel elections: Elections for the renewal of the Belgian regional and community parliaments (Flemish parliament, parliament of the Walloon region, parliament of the Brussels Capital region and parliament of the German-speaking community) on Sunday 7 June.
Turnout 2004: 90,81 %
Bulgaria
Bulgaria elects 17 MEPs (-1) within a single constituency. With the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty, the Bulgarian delegation will consist of 18 MEPs.
Method of voting: Lists are open (voters may indicate their preferred party and their preferred candidate within that party). A system of preferential voting is applied in favour of the national lists of political parties, of coalitions of political parties, and of independent candidates. Preferential votes in favour of specific candidates are taken into account when the number of votes won by a candidate is at least 15% of the votes validly cast for the list of candidates in question. In this event, the candidate who wins the preferential vote climbs the list and replaces the candidate in the last elected place on the original list. Seats are allocated using the Hare-Niemeyer method.
Cut-off point for submission of candidacy: Lists of candidates must be submitted by no later than the 35th day before the election, in this case Sunday 3 May
Date of voting: most likely Sunday 7 June, but the date has yet to be confirmed.
Representativeness: Total population of 7,605,100 -> around 447,359 inhabitants per MEP (5.88%).
Parallel elections: Parliamentary elections on Sunday 14 June.
Turnout 2004: 28,6 %
Cyprus
The Republic of Cyprus elects six MEPs (unchanged) to the European Parliament and is a single constituency.
Method of voting: Lists are open. The electorate may vote for an individual candidate or a maximum of two candidates from a single list.
Cut-off point for submission of candidacy: no later than Saturday 14 May.
Date of voting: Saturday 6 June 2009
Representativeness: Total population of 796,300 -> 132,717 inhabitants per MEP (16.67%).
Parallel elections: None.
Turnout 2004: 71,19 %
Denmark
Denmark elects 13 MEPs (-1) within a single constituency covering the whole of the territory (the Faroe Isles and Greenland are not part of the EU).
Method of voting: Lists are open or semi-open. The electorate may vote for an entire list or indicate their preference for specific candidates featuring on the list (preferential vote). A vote for a specific candidate also equates to a vote for that list. Some parties tell the electorate which candidate they support on the list. Each voter may vote only once. Seats are shared out using the Hondt method. All votes cast in favour of the lists and all specific candidates are added up. The candidates who come out with the largest number of votes are elected. If the candidates all end up on an equal footing, then the seats are allocated quite simply according to the number of personal votes won by each candidate. If the candidates appear in a particular order, the Droop quota is applied to the total number of votes won for the list candidate; the result is then rounded up or down to the closest whole number. Candidates who obtain a number of personal votes equal to or greater than this quota are elected. Then, starting at the top of the list, the party votes are shared out between the candidates, with the candidate who ended up in the highest position on the list receiving as many votes as necessary, in addition to his or her own personal votes, to reach the quota. All remaining party votes can then be transferred to the second candidate on the list, and added to this candidate's personal votes until the quota is reached, and continues in this way until the required number of seats has been allocated or until the party's votes have been used up. If there are any remaining seats to be allocated, these are given to the candidates in order of their position on the list.
Cut-off point for submission of candidacy: no later than four weeks before the date of the elections- in this case, before Sunday 10 May.
Date of voting: Sunday 7 June 2009
Representativeness: MEPs represent the number of people who vote in the European elections. In 2004, the Danish electoral body stood at 4,012,663, and only 1,921,541 voted. The total population of Denmark currently stands at 5, 505, 995, 22.29% of whom are under 18 years, thus giving an electoral body of 4,262,191 -> 327,861 inhabitants per MEP (5.95%).
Parallel elections: a referendum on the reform of the Danish Succession Act, to give women the same rights (via egalitarian primogeniture), on Sunday 7 June.
Turnout 2004: 47,9 %
Spain
Spain elects 50 MEPs (-4) to the European Parliament and is a single constituency. With entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty, Spain will have 54 MEPs once again.
Method of voting: Lists are closed. Votes are divided using the Hondt system.
Cut-off point for submission of candidacy: between 15 and 20 days after the elections are called.
Date of voting: Sunday 7 June 2009
Representativeness: Total population of 45,257,700 -> around 905,154 inhabitants per MEP (2%).
Parallel elections: none.
Turnout 2004: 45,1 %
Estonia
Estonia elects six MEPs (unchanged) to the European Parliament and forms a single constituency.
Method of voting: Closed lists. Seats are divided up using the Hondt method. Candidates may put themselves forward on the candidate lists of political parties, or as independent candidates. If the number of votes won by at least two political parties or independent candidates is the same, the mandate will be given to the political party or to the candidate having registered first. If a tie occurs within the list of a political party, the mandate will be given to the candidate who is highest up the list.
Cut-off point for submission of candidacy: no later than the 45th day before the election- in this case, Thursday 23 April.
Date of voting: Sunday 7 June 2009
Representativeness: Total population of 1,342,000 -> around 223,667 inhabitants per MEP (16.67%)
Parallel elections: None.
Turnout 2004: 26,83 %
Finland
Finland elects 13 MEPs (+1) within a single constituency.
Method of voting: the lists are open. Seats are distributed using the Hondt method. After seats have been distributed to each party, electoral alliance and related list, candidates on the lists are classified on the basis of the number of preferential votes they received. Political parties put forward a list of up to 20 candidates. Parties may form electoral alliances, but their common list may not exceed the number proposed by a single party. An electoral constituency association (or 2000 voters) may also appoint a candidate. The electorate votes for a specific candidate from one of these lists; they cannot vote solely for one party. However, a vote for a candidate also corresponds to a vote for the list. The Hondt method is applied differently in Finland from other countries. The total number of votes for each party list or group is calculated and the candidates from each list or group put in a given order according to the number of personal votes they receive. Each candidate receives a comparative index, by means of which the candidate at the top of the party list (with the highest number of personal votes) has a total number of votes equivalent to the total number of votes cast and won by the party or the group. The second candidate from the list gets the total number of votes equivalent to the total number of votes won by the party or group and divided by two. The third candidate from the list receives a total number of votes equivalent to the total number of votes won by the party or group divided by three, and so on. Finally, the total number of candidates is put in order of comparative index. A number of candidates corresponding to the available number of seats is then taken from the list in order of their position on it.
Cut-off point submission of candidacy: Tuesday 28 April. Lists will be confirmed by the electoral constituency commission on 7 May 2009.
Date of voting: Sunday 7 June 2009
Representativeness: Total population of 5,296,800 -> around 407,446 inhabitants per MEP (7.69%).
Parallel elections: None.
Turnout 2004: 39,4 %
France
France elects 72 MEPs (-6) to the European Parliament (74 once the Lisbon Treaty enters into force) and is divided into eight constituencies. The number of seats by constituency is likely to be as follows: 10 for the North, 9 for the West, 9 for the East, 10 for the Southwest, 5 for the Massif Central/Centre, 13 for the Southeast, 13 for Ile-de-France and 3 for the overseas departments and territories. Arrangements for the election of the MEPs able to take their seats only after the new Treaty enters into force remain to be defined.
Method of voting: system of closed lists. For each constituency, the lists must include twice as many candidates as there are seats, in case candidates step down, as it is not possible to organise by elections. The votes are cast by lists, without vote-splitting (voting for more than one candidate on different party lists) or preferential votes, in a single round. The seats are allocated according to the proportion of votes received. Lists which fail to achieve 5% of the votes cast in the constituency are not allocated any seats. Seats are shared out in order of position on the list.
Cut-off point for submission of candidacy: between Monday 11 and Friday 22 May.
Date of voting: Sunday 7 June 2009
Representativeness: Total population of 63,779,100 -> around 885,821 inhabitants per MEP (1.39%).
Parallel elections: None.
Turnout 2004: 42,76 %
Greece
Greece elects 22 MEPs (-2) to the European Parliament and forms a single constituency.
Method of voting: Lists are closed. Seats are allocated among all of the lists of parties or coalitions of parties which win at least 3% of the votes.
Cut-off point for submission of candidacy: lists of candidates are closed no later than 13 days after the start of the election campaigns. The exact date will be determined after the proclamation of the European elections, which takes place 30 days before the vote- in this case, Thursday 7 May.
Date of voting: Sunday 7 June 2009
Representativeness: Total population of 11,206,700 -> around 510,000 inhabitants per MEP (4.55%).
Parallel elections: None.
Turnout 2004: 63,22 %
Hungary
Hungary elects 22 MEPs (-2) to the European Parliament and is a single constituency.
Method of voting: Lists are closed and may be submitted by registered political parties. Common lists may also be established by two or more parties. No party may create more than one list, either independently or jointly. Only the lists of parties which win more than 5% of the total vote cast for all the lists will get seats. Seats are allocated using the Hondt method. The electorate vote for party lists, with each citizen allowed to vote for one list only. The seats are allocated to the candidates of a list in the order initially drawn up by the party.
Cut-off point for submission of candidacy: the lists of the parties with the names of the candidates must be sent to the national electoral commission no later than 30 days before the election date- Friday 8 May.
Date of voting: most likely Thursday 4 June, but still to be confirmed.
Representativeness: Total population of 10,046,300 -> around 456,650 inhabitants per MEP (4.55%).
Parallel elections: None.
Turnout 2004: 38,5%
Ireland
Ireland elects 12 MEPs (-1) to the European Parliament and the country is divided into four constituencies: Dublin, East, Northwest and South, with three seats each.
Method of voting: Seats are allocated divided up using the single transferable vote method. This system is virtually the same as the proportional system: votes cast + 1 = quota of seats +1. Each voter casts his or her vote for a candidate and also indicates, in order of preference, the candidate or candidates their vote should go to in the event that the first or second choice candidate has already reached the quota or fails to attract sufficient votes and is therefore eliminated. The candidate is elected once he or she reaches the quota. All votes won by a candidate above the quota achieved by this candidate are redistributed on a proportional basis among the remaining candidates, in line with the preferences voiced by the voters.
Date of voting: Friday 5 June 2009
Cut-off point for submission of candidacy: nomination of candidates takes place over a week, roughly 1 month before the date of the elections, in this case the week from Monday 4 to Sunday 10 May.
Representativeness: Total population of 4,414,800 -> around 367,900 inhabitants per MEP (8.33%).
Parallel elections: local elections on Friday 5 June.
Turnout 2004: 58,8 %
Italy
Italy elects 72 MEPs (-6) to the European Parliament (73 after the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty) and is divided into five electoral constituencies: Northwest, Northeast, Centre, South, Islands. In accordance with Italian law, each electoral constituency elects a number of MEPs which is proportionate to the number of inhabitants (20, 15, 15, 19, 9), a figure which is then corrected on the basis of the number of voters (e.g. at the European elections of 2004, the number of MEPs elected in the various electoral constituencies were 23, 15, 16, 17 and 7 respectively).
Method of voting: lists are open. Preferential voting system The Hare quota is calculated, to obtain the quota of votes needed to win a seat. The total number of votes for each party is then divided by this quota, to determine the number of seats allocated to each party in each electoral constituency. The seats are allocated to the candidates with largest number of personal votes. The Italian system is different from all of the others, because if a party fails to win seats in a given electoral constituency, these personal votes can be transferred to the equivalent party list in another constituency. If seats remain after this process, the remaining votes cast in favour of each party throughout the country are cumulated and the remaining seats distributed at national level. The seats allocated to each list are then redistributed to the electoral constituencies in question, on the basis of the total number of parties' votes and of the seats already granted to each party. Lastly, these seats are allocated to the candidate with the largest number of personal votes. The two constituencies with the highest number of "leftovers" are entitled to an extra seat. Nonetheless, as seats are given to parties rather than to regions and with abstentions playing a part, the result is very often that more seats go to the less heavily populated constituencies (to the detriment of the islands, for example, where the level of abstentions is generally very high).
Date of voting: Saturday 6 June and Sunday 7 June 2009
Cut-off point for submission of candidacy: the lists of candidates must be submitted to the elections bureau of each electoral constituency before the 39th day before the election date, in this case Wednesday 29 April.
Representativeness: Total population of 59,578,400 -> around 827,478 inhabitants per MEP (1.39%).
Parallel elections: administrative elections on Saturday 6 June.
Turnout 2004: 73,1%
Latvia
Latvia elects 8 MEPs (+1) within a single constituency. Once the Lisbon Treaty enters into force, Latvia will get a ninth MEP.
Method of voting: lists are open. Each party or group of parties proposes a list of candidates. The electorate has the right to a preferential vote. Seats of MEPs are allocated using a fixed voting system applied proportionately. The political parties which receive below 5% of the votes cast are not allocated any seats. Each party's seats are allocated using the Sainte-Laguë method.
Date of voting: Saturday 6 June 2009
Cut-off point for submission of candidacy: lists of candidates must be submitted to the central electoral bureau between the 80th and the 65th day before the European Parliament elections, in other words between 18 March and 2 April 2009.
Representativeness: Total population of 2,265,000 -> around 283,000 inhabitants per MEP (12.49%).
Parallel elections: local (municipal) elections on Saturday 6 June.
Turnout 2004: 41,34%
Lithuania
Lithuania elects 12 MEPs (-1) to the European Parliament, within a single constituency.
Method of voting: lists are open. Preferential voting system. Lists winning less than 5% of the total number of votes cast do not go forward for representation in the Parliament. Seats are allocated on the basis of the number of votes and are distributed using the Hondt system.
Date of voting: Sunday 7 June 2009
Cut-off point for submission of candidacy: submission of applications starts 65 days before the elections and ends 34 days before, giving a window from Friday 3 April to Sunday 3 May.
Representativeness: Total population of 3,365,400 -> around 280,450 inhabitants per MEP (8.33%).
Parallel elections: first round of Lithuanian presidential elections on Sunday 10 and Sunday 17 May; second round, Sunday 14 June.
Turnout 2004: 43,38 %
Luxembourg
Luxembourg elects 6 MEPs (unchanged) to the European Parliament from a single constituency.
Method of voting: lists are open. Seats are allocated using the Hondt system. Each voter has as many votes as there are seats to be allocated. He or she may vote twice for each of the candidates until he or she runs out of votes (cumulative voting). Votes may be split. Voters may give all of their votes to a single list, by giving a single vote to each of the candidates on this list. They may also vote for candidates from different lists, for individual candidates or divide their votes between the candidates of the same list. Seats are allocated in proportion to the number of votes won by a candidate or a list. The parties present a list from candidates, with a maximum of 12. The seats are divided up on the basis of the number of votes won by the various candidates and lists. The Droop quota is calculated, rounded up or down to the nearest whole number. The total number of votes won by each party list (this includes the votes for the party lists and for the individual candidates on the list) is then divided by the quota, to calculate the number of seats given to each party list. The seats allocated to each party list are then distributed to individual candidates on the basis of their individual votes. In the event of a tie, the oldest candidate wins.
Date of voting: Sunday 7 June 2009
Cut-off point for submission of candidacy: Lists must be submitted no later than 60 days before the date of the election, in this case Wednesday 8 April.
Representativeness: Total population of 482,200 -> around 80,367 inhabitants per MEP (16.67%)
Parallel elections: Parliamentary elections on Sunday 7 June.
Turnout 2004: 89 %
Malta
Malta elects five MEPs (unchanged) to be European Parliament and is made up of a single constituency. With the Lisbon Treaty, Malta will gain an additional MEP.
Method of voting: no party lists. The division of the seats is worked out on the basis of the vote. Voters express their preference by writing 1, 2, 3, etc next to the name of as many candidates as they wish (one candidate minimum). The candidates are elected if, during the first or at subsequent counts, they win at least the same number of votes as the "quota", which is equivalent to 1/7 of the total number of votes validly cast plus one.
Date of voting: Saturday 6 June 2009
Cut-off point for submission of candidacy: a date has yet to be fixed, but it will to be more than 35 days before the date of the election. The names of the candidates will be published in the Official Journal on Sunday 3 May.
Representativeness: Total population of 410,500 -> around 82,100 inhabitants per MEP (20%).
Parallel elections: local elections on Saturday 6 June.
Turnout 2004: 82,37 %
Netherlands
The Netherlands elects 25 MEPs (-2) to the European Parliament (26 after the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty), within a single constituency.
Method of voting: Lists are semi-open. Seats are divided up using the Hondt method with a system of preferential voting. The electorate votes for a specific candidate from a party list. For the allocation of seats to the parties, the total number of votes cast in the whole country is divided by the number of seats to be allocated, to obtain the Hare electoral quota. The number of votes cast for each list is divided by the electoral quota and the quotient determines the number of seats initially allocated to this list. The averages calculated are put in decreasing order and the remaining seats are allocated to the parties on this basis. Only parties which have achieved the electoral quota can take part in the process. As regards the allocation of seats to candidates: once the seats have been distributed to the parties, the next step is to determine which candidates will take them. Votes cast for individual candidates are called "personal votes". Candidates which receive a given minimum number of personal votes are automatically given a seat, unless the group for which they are standing did not win a large enough number of seats, or no seats at all. The minimum number of personal votes required for the European elections is 10% of the electoral quota. In order to win a seat, a candidate needs to get 3.7% of the votes.
Date of voting: Thursday 4 June 2009
Cut-off point for submission of candidacy: Wednesday 22 April.
Representativeness: Total population of 16,402,000 -> around 656,080 inhabitants per MEP (4%).
Parallel elections: None.
Turnout 2004: 39,3 %
Poland
Poland elects 50 MEPs (-4) to the European Parliament (51 under the Lisbon Treaty) and the country is divided into 13 constituencies: the territory of the voivodship of Pomerania; the territory of the voivodship de Cujavia-Pomerania; the territory of the voivodships of Podlachia and Warminsko-Mazurskie; part of the territory of the voivodship of Masovia; the other part of the territory of the voivodship of Masovia; the territory of the voivodship of £ódŸ; the territory of the voivodship of Greater Poland; the territory of the voivodship of Lublin; the territory of the Subcarpathian; the territory of the voivodships of Lesser Poland and Œwiêtokrzyskie; the territory of the voivodship of Silesia; the territory of the voivodships of Lower Silesia and Opole; and the territory of the voivodships of Lubusz and West Pomerania.
Method of voting: Lists are closed. To allocate seats, the national electoral committee will use the Hondt method to determine the total results in the country and which lists have received more than 5% of the vote. Mandates are then given to the various constituencies. Then, using the Hare-Niemeyer method, the committee divides up all of the seats between the electoral committees on the basis of the total number of votes cast for winning lists. Its next step is to allocate the number of seats to the various constituency lists of each electoral committee which has won seats, before allocating these seats to the candidates. Lists are closed.
Date of voting: currently being decided upon by the national parliament, it will take place on Saturday 6 or Sunday 7 June 2009.
Cut-off point for submission of candidacy: the lists must be submitted to the national electoral committee for each of the constituencies before the 40th day preceding the election, in this case Tuesday 28 April.
Representativeness: Total population of 37,996,000 -> around 759,924 inhabitants per MEP (2%).
Parallel elections: None.
Turnout 2004: 20,87%
Portugal
Portugal elects 22 MEPs (-2) to the European Parliament from a single constituency.
Method of voting: lists are closed. Seats are allocated using the Hondt method.
Date of voting: Sunday 7 June 2009
Cut-off point for submission of candidacy: up to 41 days before the date of the elections, in this case Monday 27 April.
Representativeness: Total population of 10,633,000 -> around 483,318 inhabitants per MEP (4.55%).
Parallel elections: None.
Turnout 2004: 38,6 %
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic elects 22 MEPs (-2) to the European Parliament and forms a single constituency.
Method of voting: Lists which receive less than 5% of the total of votes cast are not entitled to Parliamentary representation.
Date of voting: Friday 5 June and Saturday 6 June 2009
Cut-off point for submission of candidacy: between the 66th and the 60th day before the date of the election, in this case between Thursday 2 and Wednesday 8 April.
Representativeness: Total population of 10,345,900 -> around 470,268 inhabitants per MEP (4.55%).
Parallel elections: None.
Turnout 2004: 28,32 %
Romania
Romania elects 33 MEPs (-2) in a single constituency.
Method of voting: Lists are closed. A maximum of 10 candidates more than the number of seats allocated to Romania may feature on the list (33 seats- 43 candidates on the list in 2009). Seat allocation is done in two stages (which are implemented by the central electoral bureau): calculation of the electoral threshold and national electoral coefficient. Seats are allocated in proportion to the number of votes cast for each list. The mandates are allocated within the national constituency in accordance with the Hondt method.
Date of voting: most likely Sunday 7 June, but the date has not yet been confirmed.
Cut-off point for submission of candidacy: these must be submitted and registered with the central electoral bureau no later than 60 days before the elections, in other words Wednesday 8 April.
Representativeness: Total population of 21,423,400 -> around 649,194 inhabitants per MEP (3.03%).
Parallel elections: None.
Turnout 2004: 30 %
United Kingdom
United Kingdom elects 72 MEPs (-6) to the European Parliament (73 MEPs once the new Treaty has entered into force) and is divided into a total of 12 constituencies: Scotland (6 seats), Wales (4 seats), Northern Ireland (3 seats), Eastern England (7 seats), East Midlands (5 seats), London (8 seats), North East England (3 seats), North West England (9 seats), South East England (6 seats), South West England (6 seats), West Midlands (7 seats), Yorkshire and Humberside (6 seats). This leaves an additional seat to be allocated; most probably, it will go to the West Midlands constituency.
Method of voting: system of closed lists, allocated using the Hondt method, with the exception of Northern Ireland, which uses the single transferable vote system.
Cut-off point for submission of candidacy: Thursday 7 May
Date of voting: Thursday 4 June 2009
Representativeness: Total population of 61,270,300 -> around 850,976 inhabitants per MEP (1.39%).
Parallel elections: local elections on Thursday 4 June.
Turnout 2004: 38.83 %
Slovakia
Slovakia elects 13 MEPs (-1) to the European Parliament and forms a single constituency.
Method of voting: Lists are semi-open with vote-splitting. Only parties and coalitions with at least 5% obtain seats. The Droop method is used to calculate the number of seats. Voters may give a preferential vote to 2 candidates of a party or coalition.
Date of voting: Saturday 6 June 2009
Cut-off point for submission of candidates: the lists of candidate must be submitted by a political party or coalition to the central electoral bureau no later than 65 days before the elections, in this case Friday 3 April.
Representativeness: Total population of 5,398,800 -> around 412,292 inhabitants per MEP (7.64%).
Parallel elections: second round of presidential elections on Saturday 4 April (if needed; the first round will be held on Saturday 21 March).
Turnout 2004: 16,96 %
Slovenia
Slovenia elects seven MEPs (unchanged) to the European Parliament within a single constituency. Slovenia gains an extra MEP with the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty.
Method of voting: Lists are open and a preferential voting system is used. Seats are divided up using the Hondt method with a female quota (at least one of the first four candidates on the list must be a woman). The list may be proposed by the political parties or by voters.
Date of voting: Sunday 7 June 2009
Cut-off point for submission of candidacy: the lists of candidates must be submitted to the national electoral committee at least 30 days before election day, or Friday 8 May.
Representativeness: Total population of 2,022,600 -> around 288,943 inhabitants per MEP (14.29%).
Parallel elections: None.
Turnout 2004: 28,3 %
Sweden
Sweden elects 18 MEPs (-1) to the European Parliament and constitutes a single constituency. Sweden gains a seat with the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty.
Method of voting: Lists are open. Seats are allocated (using a modified Sainte-Laguë formula) to the party lists on a national basis. Only parties with at least 4% of the total votes cast may obtain seats. The number of personal votes cast is taken into account only for candidates who won personal votes corresponding to at least 5% of the number of votes won by his or her party in the constituency in question. Otherwise, the seats are given to the candidates on the basis of their position on the party list.
Date of voting: Sunday 7 June 2009
Cut-off point for submission of candidacy: Monday 13 March 2009
Representativeness: Total population of 9,181,700 -> around 510,094 inhabitants per MEP (5.56%).
Parallel elections: None, at this stage.
Turnout 2004: 37,8 %