The European Parliament elections are coming up in 2019, and the political parties and their youth organisations are starting to prepare for the campaigns. The list of electoral systems that are used in Europe is, however, as diverse as our union in every other aspect. And different systems might require different campaign tactics. We therefore want to explore and compare different electoral systems (Closed list, SVT or preferential voting) used in the elections to the European Parliament, and how different systems affects campaigning. We will also discuss what system would be best for the transnational (pan-European) lists that hopefully will be introduced in the future. To explore this the European Liberal Forum is organising a workshop with the support of LYMEC and with the financial support of the European Parliament in Zagreb in February. Session topics 

• Overview of electoral systems in Europe for the European Parliament Elections: Closed list, SVT or preferential voting? How do the different systems effect the campaign strategies?
• Single or Multiple Constituencies?
• Votes from Abroad
• Transnational lists

This workshop will include sessions with experts on the different topics, as well as contributions from the participants themselves. The participants will be required to draft a paper of minimum 1000 words on the topic when applying for the workshop. The essays will be presented during the event and will later be part of a publication.

Participants will be chosen according to the quality of their papers. We have at least 20 open spots for this event for participants under the age of 35.

GUIDELINES:

• Original work, minimum 1000 words.
• Word file, rectified margins, Times New Roman 12, space 1.5.
• Highly recommended to include references or data research both as footnotes and a complete reference list.
• Give your essay a title

APPLICATION PROCESS:   Fill in the form on LYMEC’s website (only valid for LYMEC Member Organisations and Individual Members of LYMEC; members of ELF organisations and ALDE Party individual members should contact their respective offices) and send your essay in Word file to [email protected]. There are no participation fees. Participants will have food and accommodation covered during the seminar. Travels will be reimbursed up to 175 euro / person (after all travel documents and a reimbursement form have been sent to the LYMEC office). Travels are reimbursed only if participating fully in the event. Please note that you have to be logged in to register for the event. Individual members can register themselves, members of member organisations have to be registered by their International Officer. Deadline for applications is Sunday, January 14th. Only registrations accompanied by a paper sent to [email protected] by the deadline for registrations will be considered. Do not book any travels before receiving a confirmation that your application has been accepted. If you experience problems with the registration, please contact [email protected] LYMEC reserves the right to issue a late cancellation fee of up to 75 euros for cancellations later than 2 weeks prior to the event, and a no-show fee of 100 euros for cancellation later than 48 hours prior to the event. All cancellations must be done in writing to [email protected]