Greece’s parliament has approved the introduction of postal voting for Greek citizens living abroad, securing 201 votes in favor—enough to ensure the measure will take effect in the next national elections. However, a related proposal to establish a special three-seat electoral constituency representing expatriate voters failed to reach the higher threshold required, receiving only 162 supporting votes.
As a result, while Greeks living overseas will be able to vote by mail starting with the next elections, the dedicated expatriate constituency will not yet be in place. To address this gap, Interior Minister Theodoros Livanios introduced a legislative amendment—announced earlier by the prime minister—stipulating that the new three-seat constituency for the diaspora will come into force 18 months after the next elections. Until then, postal ballots from Greek citizens abroad will most likely be counted within the nationwide “State list” ballots used by political parties.
Support for the reform came from the ruling New Democracy party, the center-left PASOK, the Plefsi Eletherias party, and 13 independent members of parliament, including four lawmakers aligned with Stefanos Kasselakis, as well as former prime minister Antonis Samaras and former defense minister Evangelos Apostolakis. Their votes ensured the measure surpassed the constitutional requirement of at least 200 votes for changes to Greece’s electoral law to apply immediately in the next election.
The main opposition party, SYRIZA, opted to vote “present,” effectively abstaining, while 60 lawmakers from the Communist Party of Greece (KKE), the nationalist Greek Solution party, the New Left party, and several independents voted against the measure.
According to the Interior Ministry, the postal voting process will follow the same model used in the 2024 European Parliament elections. Eligible voters abroad will submit an online application no later than the day after national elections are officially called. Shortly after candidate lists are finalized, voters will receive their ballot packages by mail. After marking their choice, they will return the ballot—free of charge—to a central postal vote sorting center by the eve of election day.
Officials stressed that the reform does not expand the electorate, as the option will be available only to citizens who already have the right to vote and happen to be outside Greece on election day. Voters residing within Greece will not be able to request postal voting for parliamentary elections, although they can do so for European elections and national referendums.
In Greece’s 2023 national elections, around 18,000 expatriate voters cast ballots at physical polling stations established abroad under the restrictions of a 2019 law. Those restrictions were lifted in 2023. The government’s aim is now to allow overseas voters to exercise their right from their place of residence through postal voting, eliminating the need to travel—sometimes even to another country—to reach a polling station, as occurred in some cases during previous elections.
