A few months before opening ballot boxeshis initiatives government with the bill he brought in April 2021 for emigrant votingto convince them Greeks of the Diaspora go to the polls, did not bear fruit.

Until today, according to with information from “K”only 3,800 Greeks abroad around the world have begun the process of applying for all the documents get the right to vote in national elections.

The main reason is that the government’s bill creates so many hurdles and procedural difficulties from the start that it acts as a deterrent to those people who would be confident of winning the right to vote in parliament. national elections from their place of residence.

Meeting in Piraeus

Special meeting in N.D. with the aim of increasing the participation of foreigners in the upcoming elections, since “every vote will count” in the battle for self-confidence.

OUR New Democracy has recently been making a concerted effort to maximize the percentage of Greeks who will be registered on the relevant list. According with information from “K”Last week, at the suggestion of Yiannis Bratakos, a teleconference was held at the party’s headquarters under the leadership of party secretary Pavlos Marinakis.

The meeting was attended by leaders of “local” New Democracy organizations in each country – in some cases there is more than one organization in a country – with the aim of organizing a party abroad to increase the number of registered Greeks.

ND leaders gave their “presence” to the meeting via videoconference. in Cyprus, the UK, Germany, where there is more than one organization, and Belgium.

N.D. he continues to support organizations in various cities in the US, Australia, Sweden, France and Bulgaria. The message conveyed by the central administration was that a great deal of mobilization and information is required before the elections so that even the last Greek living abroad is informed that he has the possibility to vote remotely in the national elections. For this reason, the information campaign has already been “launched” so that the information reaches as many people as possible.

The effort is not easy. As predicted, the process is far behind, and with today’s data, the government will be satisfied if the number of registrants reaches 7-8 thousand people, that is, the size of a small city. “There is not a single vote left in the elections, especially since the self-confidence to which we aspire can be decided on a razor’s edge,” says government official “K”..

Two categories

According to the information, there are two categories of Greeks abroad. The first are those who left Greece for many years and older. They often evoke the most nostalgia for the country and, according to information, make up the majority of the 3,800 written – despite the difficulties.

Another category is those who left during the financial crisis and are younger in age. They are more indifferent to elections, but could vote if they came to Greece to see their family and combine it with a mini-vacation, as, for example, during the Easter period. This category is N.D. wants to move closer, waiting for an additional lifetime vote.