There is great interest from diaspora Greeks to vote for the first time in the national elections from their place of residence abroad. As the deadline for registration on the special platform approaches, more and more Greeks abroad have expressed their interest.
In this context, according to Proto Thema, the Ministry of the Interior is planning a new extension of a few hours after the first extension that was given for 12:00 today, Holy Tuesday.
It is recalled that based on the original circular, the applications would have closed on Monday night at 23:59, but they got an extension for today at noon at 12:00, while the great interest brings the new extension .
Citing sources from the Ministry of the Interior, Proto Thema reported that as of yesterday, Holy Monday, 27,579 applications for voting from abroad had been submitted, 19,887 had been approved, while 4,680 were rejected. 3,012 applications were still underreview.
It is also interesting that there will be sections in Lithuania, Vilnius and Kaunas, where the F-4 of the Euroleague takes place, where it is not considered improbable that Olympiacos will qualify. The semi-final will take place on the 19th and the final on the 21st of the month.
By the end of March, 4 applications for voting had been approved for the Kaunas section, and for a section to exist, 40 people must be registered.
Given, however, that yesterday the existence of a relevant department was leaked via Proto Thema, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications are waiting to see if there has been an increased interest from...fanatics of Olympiakos who will, at the same time, want to vote if their team qualifies.
In theory, too, if they change their mind, they will be able to unsubscribe from the lists.
The procedure and conditions
In order for expatriates to be able to exercise their right to vote, it is necessary to have registered on the apodimoi.gov.gr platform. The deadline for submitting applications closes 12 days before the announcement of the elections .
At the same time, it is pointed out that anyone who needs help with registration can contact the email diaspora@nd.gr or the phones (and via WhatsApp 24/7):
- +30 210 944 4250
- +30 697 293 2760
- +30 697 562 6885
- +30 698 564 0589
It is important to point out the fact that any Greek can vote from abroad without being a tax resident abroad, even if he wishes to vote from abroad in the May 21 election.
It is noted, however, that the law on expatriates - resulting from a compromise between New Democracy and the other parties - does not cover all expatriates without exception, but there are certain conditions that must be met.
As mentioned in a previous announcement issued by the press office of New Democracy, the first basic condition for them to be able to exercise their right to vote, is that they have lived in Greece for two years from 1988 to today.
The second condition is that they have submitted a tax return in Greece this year or last year. By decision of the government, they can even today submit an overdue zero tax return without paying a penalty.
Also, they are not required to be tax residents abroad, that is, to have been declared to the Foreign Ministry. Even those wishing to vote only on May 21 from abroad, they can register to vote only in this election and on May 22nd choose to be removed from the list.
Access to the digital platform apodimoi.gov.gr is done with the Taxisnet codes of those expatriate Greeks who wish to be registered in the "special electoral lists abroad" in order for their participation to be considered valid.
In order to be registered in the electoral rolls of foreign voters, they must:
- have stayed in Greece for a total of 2 years, in the last 35 years from the date of submission of the application
- have submitted a tax return in the current or previous tax year
- necessary for entry in the system the personal passwords to Taxisnet
- follow the steps as they appear on the platform and fill in the necessary information - in the case of a first-degree dependent member registration application, select "Consent" for the processing of personal information Instructions for using the application in detail.
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