Background 26-05-2019 - 15:11 Reference No: 20190516BKG51011 European elections 2019: country sheets This booklet contains fact sheets with information on electoral rules, poll opening and closing times and candidates for the 2019 European election in EU member states. Press Service, Directorate General for Communication 1 I 80 European Parliament - Spokesperson: Jaume DUCH GUILLOT EN Press switchboard number (32-2) 28 33000 Background Key data and candidates country-by-country Disclaimer: this is informal background information intended to help journalists covering the work of the European Parliament. Press Service, Directorate General for Communication 2 I 80 European Parliament - Spokesperson: Jaume DUCH GUILLOT EN Press switchboard number (32-2) 28 33000 Background Further information Website: European election results European Parliament elections 2019 press tool kit EP press service contacts Contacts EP Press Service Press Service, Directorate General for Communication 3 I 80 European Parliament - Spokesperson: Jaume DUCH GUILLOT EN Press switchboard number (32-2) 28 33000 Background AUSTRIA – REPUBLIK ÖSTERREICH European elections, 23 - 26 May 2019, country sheet: Austria · Official EE19 website https://www.bmi.gv.at/412/Europawahlen/Euro pawahl_2019 · Other elections/referenda held the same day none · Number of MEPs before/after Brexit 18/19 · Current government ÖVP (EPP) & FPÖ (ENF) since October 2017 ELECTORAL RULES · Obligatory vote no · Number of constituencies 1 · Preferential vote yes · Postal vote yes (2014: 5.6 % of votes) · Advanced vote no · Threshold to get elected 4 % · Day of EE19 Sunday, 26 May · Opening time of polling stations 00.00 CET at Vienna Airport; 7.00 CET in most places · Closing time of polling stations 17.00 CET at the latest · Exit polls 17.00 CET (public TV ORF; APA) · Official announcement of first results 23.00 CET · Provisional final results expected Monday evening (including postal votes) VOTERS · Total 6 416 202 · Minimum age 16 · Average age N/A CANDIDATES · Lists (total) 7 · Candidates (total) 260 · Female candidates % 43 % (overall) ÖVP, SPÖ, Grüne, KPÖ: 50 %; FPÖ: 28 %, NEOs 26 %, Europa Jetzt: 75 % · Legal minimum age 18 · Lead candidates per list or party (affiliation)ÖVP (EPP) – Othmar Karas SPÖ (S&D) – (In bold those represented in outgoing ep) Andreas Schieder FPÖ (ENF) – Harald Vilimsky GRÜNE (Greens) – Werner Kogler NEOS (ALDE) – Claudia Gamon KPÖ (European Left) - Aikaterini Anastasiou Europa Jetzt (previously: Greens) – Johannes Voggenhuber Press Service, Directorate General for Communication 4 I 80 European Parliament - Spokesperson: Jaume DUCH GUILLOT EN Press switchboard number (32-2) 28 33000 Background · MEPs re-running (in bold lead candidate ofOthmar Karas (ÖVP) Lukas Mandl (ÖVP) list) Evelyn Regner (SPÖ) Harald Vilimsky (FPÖ) Georg Mayer (FPÖ) Monika Vana (Greens) Thomas Waitz (Greens) Angelika Mlinar (ALDE) - now running in Slovenia RESULTS 2014 MEPs % votes ÖVP 5 27 % SPÖ 5 24.1 % FPÖ 4 19.7 % GRÜNE 3 14.5 % NEOS 1 8.14 % KPÖ - - EUROPA Jetzt - - TURNOUT 2014 45.39 % Contacts Michaela FINDEIS Press Officer (+32) 498 98 33 32 [email protected] Huberta HEINZEL Press Officer in Austria (+43) 1 516 172 01 (+43) 676 550 31 26 [email protected] Bernhard SCHINWALD Press Officer in Austria (+43) 1 516 172 11 (+43) 660 373 7367 [email protected] Press Service, Directorate General for Communication 5 I 80 European Parliament - Spokesperson: Jaume DUCH GUILLOT EN Press switchboard number (32-2) 28 33000 Background BELGIUM – BELGIË – BELGIQUE – BELGIEN European elections, 23 - 26 May 2019, country sheet: Belgium · Official EE19 website https://verkiezingen.fgov.be/algemeen/kandida tenlijsten-en-stembiljetten (NL) https://elections.fgov.be/informations- generales/listes-des-candidats-et-bulletins-de- vote (FR) https://wahlen.fgov.be/allgemeines/kandidatenl isten-und-stimmzettel (DE) · Other elections/referenda held the same day federal election (Chamber of Representatives) regional elections (Flemish Parliament, Parliament of Wallonia, Parliament of the German-speaking Community, Parliament of the Brussels-Capital Region) · Number of MEPs before/after Brexit 21/21 · Current government CD&V (EPP), Open Vld (ALDE), MR (ALDE) since Dec. 2018 ELECTORAL RULES · Obligatory vote yes · Number of constituencies 1 · Preferential vote yes · Postal vote yes (for Belgians living abroad), 1.25% of the votes in 2014 · Advanced vote no · Threshold to get elected Dutch-speaking electoral college: 5% French- speaking electoral college: 5% German- speaking electoral college: no · Day of EE19 Sunday, 26 May · Opening time of polling stations 8.00 CET · Closing time of polling stations 14.00 CET (voting on paper) 16.00 CET (electronic voting) · Exit polls N/A · Official announcement of first results 27 May during the day · Provisional final results expected 26 May 23.00 CET VOTERS · Total 8 240 960 · Minimum age 18 · Average age N/A CANDIDATES Press Service, Directorate General for Communication 6 I 80 European Parliament - Spokesperson: Jaume DUCH GUILLOT EN Press switchboard number (32-2) 28 33000 Background · Lists (total) 22 (8 Dutch-speaking, 7 French-speaking, 7 German-speaking) · Candidates (total) 159 + 138 substitutes · Female candidates % · Legal minimum age 18 · Lead candidates per list or party (affiliation) (In bold those represented in outgoing ep) Dutch-speaking Open Vld – GuyGerman-speaking Vivant – Alain Mertes Verhofstadt N-VA – Geert BourgeoisEcolo – Shqiprim Thaqi ProDG – Lydia Vlaams Belang – Gerolf Annemans CD&V – Klinkenberg CSP – Pascal Arimont PFF-MR Kris Peeters PVDA – Line De Witte Groen – – Yves Derwahl SP – Matthias Zimmermann Petra De Sutter sp.a – Kathleen Van Brempt DierAnimal - Reiner Barczinski Volt - Christophe Calis French-speaking Ecolo – Philippe Lamberts cdH – Benoît Lutgen MR – Olivier Chastel PP – Yasmine Dehaene DéFI – Benoît Cassart PTB – Marc Botenga PS – Paul Magnette · MEPs re-running (in bold lead candidate of list) Gerolf Annemans (Vlaams Belang) MariaFrédérique Ries (MR) Bart Staes (Groen) Arena (PS) Pascal Arimont (CSP) Ivo Belet Marc Tarabella (PS) Kathleen Van Brempt (CD&V) Mark Demesmaeker (N-VA) Philippe (sp.a) Tom Vandenkendelaere (CD&V) Hilde Lamberts (Ecolo) Ralph Packet (N-VA) Vautmans (Open Vld) Guy Verhofstadt (Opên Vld) Lieve Wierinck (Open Vld) RESULTS 2014 MEPs % votes Dutch-speaking (12) N-VA 4 26.67 Open Vld 3 20.40 CD&V 2 19.96 sp.a 1 13.18 Groen 1 10.62 VB 1 6.76 PVDA+ 0 2.40 French-speaking (8) PS 3 29.28 MR 3 27.10 Ecolo 1 11.69 cdH 1 11.36 PP 0 5.98 PTB-GO! 0 5.48 FDF 0 3.39 Debout les Belges 0 2.98 LA DROITE 0 1.59 VEGA 0 0.62 Stand up U.S.E. 0 0.33 MG 0 0.19 Press Service, Directorate General for Communication 7 I 80 European Parliament - Spokesperson: Jaume DUCH GUILLOT EN Press switchboard number (32-2) 28 33000 Background German-speaking (1) CSP 1 30.36 Ecolo 0 16.66 PFF 0 16.05 SP 0 15.11 ProDG 0 13.22 Vivant 0 8.61 TURNOUT 2014 89.64 % Contacts Laeticia MARKAKIS Press Officer (+32) 470 88 03 33 [email protected] Press Service, Directorate General for Communication 8 I 80 European Parliament - Spokesperson: Jaume DUCH GUILLOT EN Press switchboard number (32-2) 28 33000 Background BULGARIA – БЪЛГАРИЯ European elections, 23 - 26 May 2019, country sheet: Bulgaria · Official EE19 website https://www.cik.bg/en · Other elections/referenda held the same day none · Number of MEPs before/after Brexit 17/17 · Current government GERB (EPP) & United Patriots (ECR) since May 2017 ELECTORAL RULES · Obligatory vote yes · Number of constituencies 1 · Preferential vote yes · Postal vote no · Advanced vote no · Threshold to get elected not fixed · Day of EE19 Sunday, 26 May · Opening time of polling stations 06.00 CET · Closing time of polling stations 19.00 CET · Exit polls 19.00 CET (average of 4 exit polls) · Official announcement of first results 23.00 CET · Provisional final results expected not later than 3 days VOTERS · Total 6 374 924 · Minimum age 18 · Average age CANDIDATES · Lists (total) 27 · Candidates (total) 318 · Female candidates % 29.55 % · Legal minimum age 21 · Lead candidates per list or party (affiliation) (In bold those represented in outgoing ep) Press Service, Directorate General for Communication 9 I 80 European Parliament - Spokesperson: Jaume DUCH GUILLOT EN Press switchboard number (32-2) 28 33000 Background Desislava Petrova Ivancheva– Independent Candidate Vazrazhdane (Revival) – Tsoncho Ganev Nikolay Nankov Nenchev - Independent Candidate VOLT - Nastimir Ananiev Movement 'Reload Bulgaria' - Dimitar Baykartarov Patriots for Valeri Simeonov - Valeri Simeonov GERB (EPP) - Mariya Gabriel Movement 'Together' - Aleksandar Tomov BSP for Bulgaria (S&D) - Elena Yoncheva Way to the Young - Rumen Cholakov Coalition for Bulgaria - Boyan Duraknev VAZHOD Coalition - Emil Mechikyan Democratic Bulgaria – Union (EPP) - Radan Kanev Volya - the Bulgarian Patriots - Vesselin Mareshki ATAKA - Georgi Dimov People's Voice - Veneta Madzihistreli Party of THE GREENS - Vladimir Nikolov DOST - Byulent Hasanov Direct Democracy - Petar Klisanov DPS (ALDE) - Mustafa Karadayi Movement 21 - Danail Georgiev Mincho Hristov Kuminev - Independent Candidate Vanya Rumenova Grigorova - Independent Candidate VMRO (ECR)- Angel Dzhambazki Hristo Simeonov Simeonov - Independent Candidate Venislava Plamenova Atanasova - Independent Candidate Bulgarian National Union - Evgeniya Baneva · MEPs re-running (in bold lead candidate of list) Andrey Kovatchev (GERB) Andrey Novakov