In Ireland, the opposition party Sinn Féin wants to use the polls to mobilize support ahead of national elections expected in the coming year.
"Vote Sinn Féin on Friday as the first step towards changing the government," party leader Mary Lou McDonald posted during the campaign on social media platform X.
McDonald said, "This is a time for new people with new solutions and new ideas, both at local government and at European level. Change starts here."
There are 14 seats up for grabs in the European Parliament elections for Ireland, which are taking place at the same time as local office elections.Public concern about the rising numbers of asylum seekers in Ireland has seen a rise in the number of independent candidates promising stricter immigration policies.
Elections are being held in the Czech Republic on Friday and Saturday, with 21 seats up for grabs.
According to Czech polling agency STEM, opposition party ANO has received 23.1 percent of the vote, slightly ahead of the coalition government parties and could win up to six seats.
However, STEM analyst Martin Kratochvil said, "The ANO movement is nowhere near the gains we are accustomed to," attributing this to the generally low Czech turnout in European Parliament elections – particularly among the more Eurosceptic opposition. .
Emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic, a slowdown in economic growth, traumatized by the war in Ukraine, struggling to deal with rising migration and attempting to confront the threats posed by climate change, these elections come amid uncertainty about the EU's future path. are full.It is also the first EU election since Britain became the only country to formally leave the bloc in 2020.
The Netherlands was the first country to vote on Thursday, with Geert Wilders' far-right Party for Freedom (PVV) in the spotlight, aiming to capitalize on the surge in support.
While Wilders' party made a strong lead and was on track to gain just one to seven of the 31 Dutch seats in the European Parliament, it was ousted from the center-left Dutch political coalition that won eight seats, according to a Exit poll from Thursday evening.
If forecasters' predictions are correct, far-right parties will fare better than ever this time, which could affect everything from EU migration and climate policy to the choice of the next European Commission president.
Voting is set to begin on Saturday in Italy, Latvia, Malta and Slovakia, with Italians voting for two days. The rest of the EU will hold elections on Sunday, June 9.Once the votes have been counted and politicians have been elected to their seats in the European Parliament, political parties will form into separate pan-European groups.
The centre-right European People's Party (EPP) has been the largest such group for the past 25 years, although no group has ever had a parliamentary majority.
Other current factions are the centre-left Socialists and Democrats (S&D), the liberal-centrist ReNew, the environmentalist Greens, the far-right Identity and Democracy (ID), the less radical but nationalist right-wing European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) and the radical socialist group. , The Left. There are also non-aligned parties and independents among them.
Once the results are in and the new Parliament begins to take shape, EU leaders will gather for an informal summit to begin the process of selecting a new Commission President, the most powerful executive post in the EU. Will be.Incumbent President Ursula von der Leyen is seeking a second term. To succeed, the German conservative politician first needs the support of a qualified majority of EU leaders. Then, the European Parliament must approve his nomination by a majority vote.
In 2019, von der Leyen was approved by a margin of just nine votes. With the expected growth of far-right parties in parliament, he may face an even tougher challenge to keep his job this time.int/sd/arm
"Vote Sinn Féin on Friday as the first step towards changing the government," party leader Mary Lou McDonald posted during the campaign on social media platform X.
McDonald said, "This is a time for new people with new solutions and new ideas, both at local government and at European level. Change starts here."
There are 14 seats up for grabs in the European Parliament elections for Ireland, which are taking place at the same time as local office elections.Public concern about the rising numbers of asylum seekers in Ireland has seen a rise in the number of independent candidates promising stricter immigration policies.
Elections are being held in the Czech Republic on Friday and Saturday, with 21 seats up for grabs.
According to Czech polling agency STEM, opposition party ANO has received 23.1 percent of the vote, slightly ahead of the coalition government parties and could win up to six seats.
However, STEM analyst Martin Kratochvil said, "The ANO movement is nowhere near the gains we are accustomed to," attributing this to the generally low Czech turnout in European Parliament elections – particularly among the more Eurosceptic opposition. .
Emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic, a slowdown in economic growth, traumatized by the war in Ukraine, struggling to deal with rising migration and attempting to confront the threats posed by climate change, these elections come amid uncertainty about the EU's future path. are full.It is also the first EU election since Britain became the only country to formally leave the bloc in 2020.
The Netherlands was the first country to vote on Thursday, with Geert Wilders' far-right Party for Freedom (PVV) in the spotlight, aiming to capitalize on the surge in support.
While Wilders' party made a strong lead and was on track to gain just one to seven of the 31 Dutch seats in the European Parliament, it was ousted from the center-left Dutch political coalition that won eight seats, according to a Exit poll from Thursday evening.
If forecasters' predictions are correct, far-right parties will fare better than ever this time, which could affect everything from EU migration and climate policy to the choice of the next European Commission president.
Voting is set to begin on Saturday in Italy, Latvia, Malta and Slovakia, with Italians voting for two days. The rest of the EU will hold elections on Sunday, June 9.Once the votes have been counted and politicians have been elected to their seats in the European Parliament, political parties will form into separate pan-European groups.
The centre-right European People's Party (EPP) has been the largest such group for the past 25 years, although no group has ever had a parliamentary majority.
Other current factions are the centre-left Socialists and Democrats (S&D), the liberal-centrist ReNew, the environmentalist Greens, the far-right Identity and Democracy (ID), the less radical but nationalist right-wing European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) and the radical socialist group. , The Left. There are also non-aligned parties and independents among them.
Once the results are in and the new Parliament begins to take shape, EU leaders will gather for an informal summit to begin the process of selecting a new Commission President, the most powerful executive post in the EU. Will be.Incumbent President Ursula von der Leyen is seeking a second term. To succeed, the German conservative politician first needs the support of a qualified majority of EU leaders. Then, the European Parliament must approve his nomination by a majority vote.
In 2019, von der Leyen was approved by a margin of just nine votes. With the expected growth of far-right parties in parliament, he may face an even tougher challenge to keep his job this time.int/sd/arm
