The European Union is the political and economic union of 27 European countries. It was established with the Maastricht Treaty in 1993. The EU aims to achieve political, economic, and monetary union, as well as unify foreign and security policies among its member states. It also promotes a single market, provides backup for peacekeeping missions, and works with international organizations like the United Nations. - Prediction: CSU undoubtedly leads in Bavaria for the European elections
Christian Social Union (CSU) dominates the European election in Bavaria with 38.5% of the votes, a considerable decline from their 40.7% results five years ago. However, they have still managed to surpass their 2023 state election performance of 37.0%. Bayerischer Rundfunk's forecast also highlights that the Greens gained 12.0% of the votes, a significant dip from their 19.1% share in the previous election. AfD follows with 11.0% up from 8.5% five years ago.
The forecast, which was conducted by Infratest Dimap for Bayerischer Rundfunk, largely correlates with the predictions from recent surveys leading up to the election. This forecast is not a projection but rather a voter survey conducted after they've cast their vote. The first official projections, incorporating actual counted votes, are anticipated around 6:30 pm.
Besides CSU and Greens, the Social Democratic Party (SPD) ranked fourth with 9.0% votes compared to their 9.3% in the previous election. The Free Voters saw a significant boost from 5.3% to 7.0%, while FDP and BSW ranked eighth and ninth with 3.4% and 4.0% respectively. The OEDP finished sixth with 3.9%, just slightly more than their 3.1% in the 2019 election.
Around 10.4 million people were eligible to vote in Bavaria. This number included approximately 220,000 16 and 17-year-olds, who, due to the lowering of the voting age, were voting for the first time. Apart from these, there were roughly 9.57 million Germans and approximately 822,000 people with another EU nationality, who could decide to vote in Bavaria or their home country.
The polling stations were open from 8 am to 6 pm, and a total of 34 election proposals from parties and different political associations were on the ballot, featuring 1413 candidates.
