European elections 2024: Romania to open more than 900 polling stations abroad

The Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE) said that 915 polling stations would be opened abroad for the upcoming elections for the European Parliament, scheduled for June 9. This is more than double the number of polling stations available for Romanians abroad at the 2019 European elections - 441.

Most polling stations will be opened in countries with the largest communities of Romanians, namely Italy (150), Spain (147), the United Kingdom (104), Germany (87), France and the Principality of Monaco (67), and the Republic of Moldova (52).

There will also be 45 polling stations available in the US, 24 in Belgium, 17 in Austria, 16 in Ireland, 16 in the Netherlands, 14 in Denmark, and 12 in Canada, MAE said.

When compared to other previous elections, for this year’s European Parliament elections, there will be 80 more polling stations opened abroad than in the 2019 presidential elections (835), 167 more compared to the 2020 parliamentary elections (748), and 474 more than the polling stations organized in the 2019 European Parliament elections (441).

Romanian citizens with the right to vote who are domiciled, have residence, or are temporarily abroad can vote at any station opened in their country based on a Romanian identity document valid on the day of voting.

For the June 9 elections, voting begins at 07:00 local time and ends at 22:00. Voters who are at the polling station at 22:00, as well as those queuing outside the polling station to enter the polling station, can exercise their right to vote until 23:59 local time.

Romania holds both local and European elections on June 9. The electoral campaign officially kicked off last Friday, May 10, and will end on June 8. The Permanent Electoral Authority said it would organize 18,955 polling stations across the country for the June 9 elections, according to News.ro.

(Photo source: Cateyeperspective/Dreamstime.com)