A record turnout is announced at the European Parliament elections, scheduled for June 9, 2024. The phenomenon was explained by political scientist Andrei Țăranu, in an interview for Newspapers.com.
About 60% of respondents to a study carried out by the European Union (Eurobarometer) in April said they were interested in voting for the European Parliament, a significant increase compared to 2019, when only 49% were registered.
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At European level, on average, 71% of citizens said they were likely to vote on June 9. In Romania, the percentage is huge, 74%. It should be recalled that in the 2019 European parliamentary elections, 51% of Romanians cast their vote, and in the 2020 parliamentary elections, a negative record of 33% was registered.
The polarization of society, respectively the disappointment against the background of the events of recent years will cause the electorate to mobilize massively for these elections, according to political scientist Andrei Țăranu.
“It’s a very big difference compared to the last parliamentary elections and even to the European parliamentary elections in 2019. Interest in the European parliamentary elections has increased throughout the European Union because social divisions are very strong. In the case of Romania, they increased by 11% compared to 2019. Even then, we had an extremely strong presence. It was one of the strongest in Europe”, stated Andrei Țăranu, for Newspapers.com.
Due to the merger of the European parliamentarians with the local ones, even more citizens will go to the polls, believes the SNSPA professor.
“It’s the way people don’t necessarily choose their representatives in the European Parliament… They express their political sympathies or political dislikes. The most political places where they will be able to vote are the European Parliament ones, respectively those for the county and local councils, political votes par excellence. The fact that the current coalition brought them together enhanced their importance”, commented Țăranu.
Andrei Țăranu: “It’s the first if when we have some elections in which more young people than elderly people will participate”
The interest of young people in the political phenomenon is greater than ever, the university professor is convinced.
“From my point of view, we will see some very interesting scores. I look around me, but simply, through participatory observation, you see that the votes are very divided for mayors, councils and for the European Parliament votes, they are not the same vote for vote.
It could be that what was said with the “voting revolution” will not happen, as Barbu Mateescu (sociologist) said, but there will be a massive fragmentation towards various political areas, which shows an important growth of the political culture in Romania. People have started to understand the importance of elections. And, very importantly, it’s the first if when we have some elections in which more young people than elderly people will participate”, the political analyst also stated.
European citizens, disappointed by the representatives in the Brussels Parliament
In the states considered “developed”, the image of those elected in key positions is shaky. The average positive image at EU level is only 41%. According to the survey, France is in last place on the “positive image of the European Parliament” indicator, with only 27%. And in Romania, less than half have a positive perception. Our country is, however, in the first half of the ranking. 46% of respondents have a positive image of the European Parliament.
The perception of the EU is positive at the level of the member states, with an average of 47%. Portugal is the country in which the EU stands the best in terms of positive perception, with 69%. At the opposite pole are the Czech Republic, with 33% positive perception, Austria and France. Romania, with 50% positive perception, is above the EU average.
Citizens mostly look admiringly at the past. 71% of the citizens of the member states believe that their country has benefited from EU membership, while in Romania, the percentage is 65%, among the lowest in the entire Union. Only France, Italy, Austria and Bulgaria are weaker than Romania in this respect. The leaders are Lithuania, Malta and Ireland.
81% of Europeans think that voting is more important in the current geopolitical situation.
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