New Greek Prime Minister pushes plan for Diaspora voting in Greek elections

ATHENS – Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said his New Democracy administration will accelerate plans to let Greeks abroad in the Diaspora to have the vote in elections, a promise made by previous governments that haven’t been kept yet.

The vote for the Diaspora will be taken up separately in Parliament and not linked to a new electoral law, he told the Conservatives political committee.

“The right of Greeks abroad to vote from their place of residence is a priority and the relevant provision is coming soon, and independently, and I hope this issue will secure the necessary convergence in Parliament,” he said, where his party has control, with 158 of 300 votes.

“The right to vote for expatriate Greeks, from their place of residence, is a priority … I hope that regarding this issue, the necessary Parliamentary convergences will arise because if there is a law that all 300 deputies must vote for, it’s this one,” he said.

Giving Greek citizens who remain on election rolls in Greece the right to vote from their place of residence overseas – similar to many other European countries, who set up polling stations in embassies and consulates – has long been promised by New Democracy but never enacted.

Showing his seriousness, Mitsotakis named The National Herald Publisher-Editor Antonis H. Diamataris as Deputy Foreign Minister in charge of the Diaspora and Expatriate Greeks to help put together the vote for those Greeks living in other countries. He stepped down temporarily from the newspaper while he stays in that position.

Former Premier Alexis Tsipras of the Radical Left SYRIZA, ousted in July 7 snap elections, had waffled repeatedly on giving the Diaspora the right to vote in general elections and they weren’t able to take part in the polls that saw him defeated.