General Information
At Stake in this Election:
- 751 seats in the European Parliament.
Government Structure:
- Chief of State: European Commission President Jean-Claude JUNCKER
- Head of Government: President of the European Council Donald TUSK
- Assembly: The European Union has a unicameral European Parliament with 751 seats. The Council of the European Union also serves as a legislative branch of the EU.
Electoral System:
- Members of the Council of the European Union are elected indirectly by member countries. In the Council, all measures must pass a qualified majority of 255 votes; 28 member-state ministers have 352 votes, the number of votes being roughly proportional to member-states' populations.
- In the European Parliament, 751 members are elected by proportional representation to serve 5-year terms. Member states are allotted seats and may choose their own electoral systems, so long as they are based on proportional representation or single transferable vote. Electoral systems, dates, and seats are listed by below. (source for table)
Country
Election Date
Electoral System
Electoral Threshold
Seats
Austria
May 26, 2019
Open-list proportional representation
4%
18
Belgium
May 26, 2019
Open-list proportional representation
5%
21
Bulgaria
May 26, 2019
Open-list proportional representation
None
17
Croatia
May 26, 2019
Open-list proportional representation
5%
11
Cyprus
May 26, 2019
Open-list proportional representation
1.8%
6
Czech Republic
May 24-25, 2019
Open-list proportional representation
5%
21
Denmark
May 26, 2019
Open-list proportional representation
None
13
Estonia
May 26, 2019
Open-list proportional representation
None
6
Finland
May 26, 2019
Open-list proportional representation
None
13
France
May 26, 2019
Closed-list proportional representation
5%
74
Germany
May 26, 2019
Closed-list proportional representation
None
96
Greece
May 26, 2019
Open-list proportional representation
3%
21
Hungary
May 26, 2019
Open-list proportional representation
5%
21
Ireland
May 24, 2019
Single transferable vote
None
11
Italy
May 26, 2019
Open-list proportional representation
4%
73
Latvia
May 25, 2019
Open-list proportional representation
5%
8
Lithuania
May 26, 2019
Open-list proportional representation
5%
11
Luxembourg
May 26, 2019
Open-list proportional representation
None
6
Malta
May 25, 2019
Single transferable vote
None
6
Netherlands
May 23, 2019
Open-list proportional representation
None
26
Poland
May 26, 2019
Open-list proportional representation
5%
51
Portugal
May 26, 2019
Closed-list proportional representation
None
21
Romania
May 26, 2019
Closed-list proportional representation
5%
32
Slovakia
May 25, 2019
Closed-list proportional representation
5%
13
Slovenia
May 26, 2019
Open-list proportional representation
None
8
Spain
May 26, 2019
Closed-list proportional representation
None
54
Sweden
May 26, 2019
Open-list proportional representation
4%
20
United Kingdom
May 23, 2019
Closed-list proportional representation*
*Elections in England, Scotland and Wales will be contested using closed-list proportional representation, while elections in Northern Ireland will be contested using single transferable vote.
None
73
Main parties in this Election:
- European People’s Party / Parti Populaire Européen (EPP)
- Leader: Joseph DAUL (France)
- Candidate for European Commission President: Manfred Weber (Germany)
- European Parliament Group: European People’s Party (EPP)
- Group’s Seats won in last European Parliament election: 221
- Party of European Socialists / Parti Socialiste Européen (PES)
- Leader: Sergei STANISHEV (Bulgaria)
- Candidate for European Commission President: Frans Timmermans (Netherlands)
- European Parliament Group: Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the Eruopean Parliament (S&D)
- Group’s Seats won in last European Parliament election: 191
- Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe / Alliance des Démocrates et des Libéraux pour l’Europe (ALDE)
- Leader: Guy Verhofstadt (Belgium)
- Candidate for European Commission President: “Team Europe” (Seven Candidates)
- European Parliament Group: Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE)
- Group’s Seats won in last European Parliament election: 67
- European Green Party / Parti Vert Européen
- Leader: Philippe LAMBERTS (Belgium) and Rebecca HARMS (Germany)
- Candidate for European Commission President: Bas EICKHOUT (Denmark) and Ska KELLER (Germany)
- European Parliament Group: The Greens / European Free Alliance (EFA)
- Group’s Seats won in last European Parliament election: 50
- Alliance of European Conservatives and Reformists / Alliance des Conservateurs et Réformistes Européens (AECR)
- Leader: Jan ZAHRADIL (Czech Republic)
- Candidate for European Commission President: Jan ZAHRADIL (Czech Republic)
- European Parliament Group: European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR)
- Group’s Seats won in last European Parliament election: 70
- The Party of the European Left / Parti de la Gauche Européenne (PEL)
- Leader: Gregor GYSI (Germany)
- Candidate for European Commission President: Violeta TOMIČ (Slovenia) and Nico CUE (Belgium)
- European Parliament Group: Confederal Group of the European United Left / Nordic Green Left (GUE/NGL)
- Group’s Seats won in last European Parliament election: 52
- Movement for a Europe of Nations and Freedom / Mouvement pour l'Europe des nations et des libertés (MENF)
- Leader: Gerolf ANNEMANS (Belgium)
- Candidate for European Commission President: None
- European Parliament Group: Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy (EFDD)
- Group’s Seats won in last European Parliament election: 48
- European Democratic Party / Parti Democratique Européen (EDP)
- Leader: Francesco RUTELLI (Italy) and François BAYROU (France)
- Candidate for European Commission President: None
- European Parliament Group: Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE)
- Group’s Seats won in last European Parliament election: 67
- European Free Alliance / Alliance Libre Européenne (EFA)
- Leader: Lorena LÓPEZ DE LACALLE
- Candidate for European Commission President: Oriol JUNQUERAS (Spain)
- European Parliament Group: The Greens / European Free Alliance (EFA)
- Group’s Seats won in last European Parliament election: 50
- European Christian Political Movement / Mouvement Politique Chrétien Européen (ECPM)
- Leader: Brianslav ŠKRIPEK
- Candidate for European Commission President: None
- European Parliament Group: European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR)
- Group’s Seats won in last European Parliament election:
- Non-attached members
- Seats won in last European Parliament election: 52
Population and Registered Voters:
- Population: 512,379,225 (2018 est.)
- Registered Voters: 400,000,000 (est.)