Samaras, Venizelos to agree on voting method for May polls

Prime Minister Antonis Samaras and Deputy Premier Evangelos Venizelos are due to meet on Saturday afternoon to decide on the changes to the voting method for the European Parliament elections and to agree the government’s course of action ahead of talks with the troika resuming in Athens next week.

The coalition intends to alter the way Greeks vote for their MEPs in May, switching from a closed list to preferential voting. The precise details of how the new method will work are due to be settled at today’s meeting. It appears that the government will favor just one, nationwide electoral district and voters being allowed to put up to four crosses next to candidates’ names.

On Friday, Niki Tzavella, an MEP with the ultranationalist LAOS party, announced that she was joining New Democracy. It is likely she will be included on the conservative party’s candidate list in May.