A woman casts her vote for the European elections at a polling station.
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Populist, far-right parties have won record support in this year’s European Parliament elections, early exit polls showed on Sunday.
According to the EU’s first official forecast, released at 8:30 pm local time, the far-right Identity and Democracy group made significant gains, while the right-wing European Conservatives and Reformists saw slight increases in their vote share.
The centre-right European People’s Party is expected to once again win the most parliamentary seats, with a slightly wider lead than before.
The forecast is based on exit polls, national estimates and pre-election polling data and follows four days of EU-wide voting.
Meanwhile, the liberal Renew Europe and the Greens/European Free Alliance are both expected to lose a significant number of seats.
Here is a breakdown of voting in early 2024 and 2019:
- European People’s Party (EPP) — 181 seats, up from 176
- Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D) — 135 seats, down from 139
- Renew Europe (RE) — 82 seats, down from 102
- European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) — 71 seats, up from 69
- Identity and Democracy (ID) — 62 seats, up from 49
- Greens/EFA — 53 seats, down from 71
- Left—reduced from 37 to 34 seats
- Non-affiliated members (NI) – 51 seats, reduced from 61
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, a member of the European People’s Party, said the party had once again proven itself to be the “strongest” in parliament.
“We were determined, united and now we have won the European elections. Voters have given us a very powerful mission,” von der Leyen told a news conference shortly after the preliminary results were announced.
More than 400 million people across the EU’s 27 member states are eligible to vote for the next European Parliament – one of the EU’s three core institutions.
The European Parliament is responsible for deciding EU laws and budget and is the only directly elected body within the EU. It is made up of Members of the European Parliament (MEPs), who are elected by each member state and come together to form the European Party Group.
The incoming parliament has 720 seats, with the most populous states responsible for electing the most MEPs. Germany tops the list with 96 countries, while Cyprus, Luxembourg and Malta each have six.
This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.
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