CHICAGO – Next month’s Greek parliamentary elections will be historic for thousands of the country’s citizens residing outside Greece, as they will be able to cast their vote from abroad for the first time. 

Registration to participate in upcoming elections closes on Monday, April 10 at 11:59 PM Athens time, according to a statement issued by the governing New Democracy party, whose representatives told The National Herald that election day for the U.S. diaspora community is expected to be held May 20, preceding Greece’s May 21 election date. 

The process is handled through the government platform https://apodimoi.gov.gr/ which was launched in 2021. Eligibility to vote requires proof of at least a two-year residency in Greece after 1988. A tax statement is also required – even if there is no income to declare – and can be created cost-free. Furthermore, those under the age of 30 are not required to submit a tax statement if a relative has submitted one. 

To assist with the process, New Democracy has opened ’24-7’ access to registration support via the email address [email protected] and the WhatsApp telephone line +30 697 293 2760.

While New Democracy recognizes that the current law restricts a significant portion of the diaspora community globally, “[the law] is the first step for diaspora participation in national elections,” said New Democracy Secretary for Diaspora Affairs Nick Theodoropoulos.

Despite initially low registration considering the diaspora’s Greek citizen population, numbers have increased to almost 25,000 global registrants in April, up from just a couple thousand in January, according to New Democracy.

“We are really proud because when we started running this campaign to inform people they can vote from abroad to become an integral part of our motherland, many were scared, not because of the two-year Greek residence requirement, as many already fulfill this criteria, but because of the tax statement,” said Head of Friends of New Democracy in America, George Laskaris. “When we started, the numbers were really low in the U.S., and in the last three months, we managed to ramp up these numbers six-fold.” 

According to New Democracy representatives, an estimated 3,000 people have registered to vote in the United Kingdom, followed by some 2,500 in Germany. The U.S. represents the third largest registered group at some 2,000 people, followed by Belgium at 1,500 and Switzerland at 1,000. 

Greeks living in America can vote from a total of nine locations. As of April 8, roughly 600 people have registered in New York, followed by 250 in Boston, 200 in both Washington, D.C. and San Francisco, 150 in Chicago, 100 in both Los Angeles and Tampa, and 70 and 60 in Houston and Atlanta, respectively. 

As a Greek citizen who has lived in the U.S. for 15 years but could neither vote in U.S. elections, nor in Greek elections from abroad until now, Laskaris said he and others are now able to exercise their right as citizens to influence the future of Greece. 

“It is very important for our voice to be heard in Greece and to be able to express our opinion about how things are going,” Laskaris said. “If one day a Greek citizen wants to go back to Greece, they need a way to be able to transform Greece. By voting, we are voting for the Greece of the future in which we want to live.” 

Those who successfully register after the April 10 deadline for May elections will still be able to participate in the July 2 and future elections. Registered persons are approved to vote for eight years following registration. 

Passed in late 2019, the law granting Greek citizens of the diaspora community the right to vote from abroad was a compromise between New Democracy’s initial proposal to abolish certain restrictive requirements (tax records and proof of residence), and opposition from SYRIZA.