A woman casts her ballot paper 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 indicated Sunday.
The far-right Identity and Democracy group made major gains, while the right-wing European Conservatives and Reformists saw a slight uptick in votes, according to the first official projection released by the EU at 8:30 p.m. local time.
The center-right European People’s Party is once again projected to win the most parliamentary seats, with a marginally bigger lead than before.
The projection is based on exit polls, national estimates and pre-election polling data, and follows a four-day, EU-wide vote.
The liberal Renew Europe and the Greens/European Free Alliance, meanwhile, are both seen losing a significant number of seats.
Here is the early 2024 vote breakdown versus 2019:
European People’s Party (EPP) — 181 seats, up from 176Progressive Alliance of Socialists & Democrats (S&D) — 135 seats, down from 139Renew Europe (RE) — 82 seats, down from 102European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) — 71 seats, up from 69Identity and Democracy (ID) — 62 seats, up from 49Greens/European Free Alliance — 53 seats, down from 71The Left — 34 seats, down from 37Non-attached members (NI) — 51 seats, down from 61
Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission and an EPP member, said the party had once again shown itself to be the “strongest” in parliament.
“We were determined, we were united, and now we won the European elections. Voters have entrusted us with a very strong mandate,” von der Leyen said during a press conference, shortly after the preliminary results were announced.
Over 400 million people across the EU’s 27 member states were eligible to vote for the next European Parliament — one of three institutions at the heart of the EU.
The European Parliament, which is responsible for deciding EU laws and budgets, is the only directed elected institution within the bloc. It is made up of Members of European Parliament (MEPs), who are elected by each member state and come together to form European party groups.
The incoming parliament has 720 seats, with the most populous states responsible for electing the most MEPs. Germany holds the top spot with 96, while Cyprus, Luxembourg and Malta each have six.
This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.