Skertsos: The postal vote is a democratic and social conquest

State Minister Akis Skertsos, in an interview with public broadcaster ERT on Friday regarding the postal vote, said that “what we experienced yesterday was a historic moment. The universal voting right for men was introduced in 1844, for women in 1952, and currently the last step is being taken to achieve so-called universal voting rights. It is a basic prerequisite for a democracy, in order to protect the participation of all citizens without exception in the right to vote. Whether they live in Greece or outside of Greece.”

Comparing Greece with the rest of the world, he noted that postal voting has been practiced in the United States of America since the 19th century, while in the rest of Europe there are at least 15-16 countries that have adopted this specific voting procedure.

“It is a democratic conquest, the extension of political rights to all citizens without exception and especially to people who have objective difficulties voting in the traditional way,” he explained. “It’s not only a democratic conquest, it’s also a social conquest,” he pointed out, since people with disabilities, the elderly and seasonal workers will be able to exercise their right to vote.

Responding to the opposition parties’ objections, Skertsos said that “the privacy and secrecy of the vote will be ensured.” Every citizen who will make use of the postal vote will receive two envelopes, he explained. One named, into which the voter will insert the Statutory Declaration and the other anonymous, which will contain the ballot that will go into the ballot box. He reiterated that there will be “all the necessary safeguards to ensure the secrecy of the vote.”