ELECTIONS IN VALENCIA

European elections in Valencia take place again on June 9 2024. Besides casting their municipal vote, most expats with EU nationalities can take part in these elections.

Non Spanish citizens of the EU residing in Spain are permitted to vote in both municipal and European Parliament polling. They must, of course, be of legal age on polling day and fulfil other legal requirements.

Expats wishing to vote need to be registered in the so-called electoral census. Previous registration in the Municipal Register and expressing the intention to exercise their right to vote in Spain are also necessary.

Formal statements of the intention to exercise the right to vote can be made by post, online or in person in the municipal council of residence.

Besides nationals from European Union countries, agreements recognising the right to vote are in place for citizens from a number of other countries.

Voters are called to choose a total of 61 European legislators every five years. More recently the status quo has been upturned through the creation of several new political parties and more diverse manifestos. The turnout at the last election was almost 61% compared to an EU average of just under 51 percent. This was the sixth highest voter turnout by country and the third highest since Spain joined the EU.

European Parliament elections are unfortunately considered less important throughout the EU with levels of uptake of sometimes suffrage low. Considering the wide-ranging powers allocated to MEP’s and centralised institutions, such disinterest seems ill-advised.

The Electoral Census Office, La Oficina del Censo Electoral, of the National Statistics Institute, Instituto Nacional de Estadística, is a good body to turn to.

By DeiaGreg / Edited Mar 15 2024