Polls Open in 20 Countries to Elect New European Parliament

Voters in 20 European countries are going to the polls on the biggest and final day of voting for the European Parliament. Sundays voting marathon winds up a four-day election cycle that began in the Netherlands on Thursday and in other countries on Friday and Saturday. The majority of EU votes will be cast today, with France, Germany, Poland and Spain opening the polls and Italy holding a second day of voting. The biggest race on Sunday is in Germany, where 96 of the Parliaments 720 seats are at stake. In Belgium, voters will also get to elect federal and regional chambers. More than 360 million voters were called to cast ballots across the EU over four days, with projected overall results due late Sunday evening. Polling data compiled by Politico suggest the center-right EPP will win 173 seats in the legislature, with the center-left Socialists and Democrats on 143 and the centrist Renew Europe on 75. The main far-right grouping, the European Conservatives and Reformists, was projected to win 76 seats. Source: Qatar News Agency