16 553 Finns cast votes in advance abroad in EP polls

A total of 16,325 Finnish nationals took part in the advance voting in the elections to the European Parliament in Finnish missions and offices abroad, while 228 Finnish crew members cast their advance votes on board ships, said an official press release.

The number of advance voters grew by 2,200 compared to the previous European elections in 2014, when 14,121 advance votes were cast at polling stations abroad.

In the European elections, advance voting was possible at 169 polling stations in 80 countries.

According to the Population Register Centre, about 255,000 persons with a permanent residence abroad were eligible to vote in this year’s elections. In addition, eligible voters staying abroad on a temporary basis had the right to vote in the missions.

In the European elections, Finnish citizens with a permanent residence in an EU Member State are entitled to register as voters in their country of residence. In that case, they are not entitled to vote in the European elections in Finland. Like in the parliamentary elections earlier this spring, eligible voters permanently or temporarily residing abroad or staying abroad had a chance to vote by post.

The number of postal votes cast is not yet available. The Ministry of Justice is responsible for the organisation of the postal voting.

Like before, the voter turnout was the highest in Sweden, where 2,677 votes were cast in advance. The voter turnout was the second highest in Spain with 1,571 voters, followed by Belgium with 1,425 voters and Germany with 1,149 and the UK with 1,059 voters.

Brussels was the busiest polling station abroad with 1,425 voters, followed by Stockholm with 1,211 and Fuengirola with 893 voters.