How to vote in the European Parliament election
In less than two months’ time, between June 4 and June 7, the European Union will be holding the biggest trans-national election in history. Citizens of the 27 member states will be voting to choose the 736 members of the European Parliament. One of the features of the election is that citizens of one member state who live abroad are entitled to vote in their country of residence, if that country is also an EU member. That means that if you are a citizen of any EU country and live legally in the Czech Republic, you can vote for candidates standing in this country. But if you do want to vote, you will need to hurry, as you have just a few days left to register. David Vaughan has more details.
The deadline for registration is 4 p.m. on Sunday April 26. The first thing you need to do is to contact your local authority in the administrative district where you live. That means that if you live in Prague, you should visit the town hall for the part of the city where you are resident. You will need the department with the slightly Orwellian name “Odbor správních agend”, which translates as “department for administrative agendas”. It should be open during usual office hours.
All you need to take with you is confirmation of temporary residence or your permanent residence permit. You can only vote if you have been officially resident in the Czech Republic since at least 45 days before the election.
Once you find the relevant department, you fill out a form, noting your citizenship, place of abode and the electoral district in which you have previously been registered in the country of which you are a citizen. On the form you also sign that you will only be voting in the Czech Republic. You are not allowed to vote in two countries at once.
You should receive your ballot papers three days before the election at the very latest (if for some reason the papers do not reach you, you can also pick them up at the polling station when you vote). Each political party, movement or coalition has its own ballot paper, so when you vote, you choose the paper for the party for which you want to cast your vote. You can vote for a maximum of two candidates on the list by putting a circle around the number by their name.
On election day you vote at the polling station closest to where you live. You will need to take proof of your identity and citizenship.
In the Czech Republic the polling stations open on Friday June 5 at 2 p.m. and close at 10 p.m. They re-open on Saturday June 6 at 8 a.m. and close at 2 p.m.
Standing for election
For the European Parliament election citizens of other EU member countries are also entitled to stand as candidates. However, their name must be submitted by a political party, movement or coalition registered with the Czech Interior Ministry. Should you want to enter the colourful world of Czech politics you will have to wait for the next opportunity, as the deadline for submitting candidates in this election was March 31.
