European Parliament elections started in Europe

The first vote was started residents of the Netherlands and the UK. Most EU countries will hold elections on Sunday.

The Netherlands became the first EU state, where on Thursday, May 23, elections to the European Parliament began. The first polling station opened at the airport in Amsterdam at 5.00.

Almost 13 million people can take part in the voting. In 2014, about 37 percent of voters came to the ballot boxes in the elections to the European Parliament. Polling stations will be closed at 21.00. The results of the elections will be announced on Sunday when the voting will end in other EU countries.

According to opinion polls, the leaders of the vote may be the ruling conservative-liberal People’s Party for freedom and democracy, led by Prime Minister Mark Rutte, and the right-wing “Forum for democracy” led by Thierry Baudet. They can get 15 percent of the vote.

The social democratic Labor Party is expected to receive 13 percent. One of its leading functionaries, Frans Timmermans, became a candidate of European Social Democrats for the presidency of the European Commission.

On Thursday, elections will be held in the UK, despite the fact that this country leaves the European Union. On Friday, the voting will begin residents of Ireland and the Czech Republic, and on May 25 – in Latvia, Malta and Slovakia.

In the rest of the European Union elections will be held on Sunday, May 26. A total of 28 EU countries have 426 million citizens eligible to participate in these elections.