Europeans head to the polls today as voting commences in Germany and other nations.
This Sunday, a total of 21 countries will hold elections. Among them are Austria and France, having the second and third most significant populations in the European Union (EU) behind Germany. Some nations have already cast their votes in the past few days. It's only when all the EU nations close their polling booths that we'll know the final results.
Germany, with its 65 million eligible voters, will send 96 MEPs to the new EU Parliament. Around 1400 female and male candidates from 35 parties and groupings are seeking office. Germany has made history by allowing 16 and 17-year-olds to vote - a move that affects around 1.4 million people.
The Netherlands started voting on Thursday, followed by Ireland and the Czech Republic on Friday. Latvia and Malta voted on Saturday, and Italy began voting on Saturday and continues on Sunday. Italian voting is expected to go on till 23:00. From 20:15, the EU is estimated to release initial projections for the European Parliament, based on exit polls and incomplete results.
Several surveys foresee a shift to the right in the European Parliament. As per the most recent surveys, the conservative European People's Party (EPP), to which the CDU and CSU belong, might secure the most number of seats. According to a Politico survey, the EPP could obtain 173 MEPs, the Social Democrats (S&D) could obtain 143 seats, and the Liberals could get 75.
The far-right European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) with Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's party is expected to have 76 MEPs and the smaller Identity and Democracy (ID) party with French right-wing populist Marine Le Pen could get 67 seats.
The result of this election will significantly affect the top jobs in Brussels, where EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is pursuing a second term.
