Europe Heads to the Polls

Elections in England, Holland, Ireland and Czech Republic were held on Thursday and Friday, while voters in Italy, Malta and Lithuania headed to the polls yesterday.

There are nearly 350 million voters in European Union (EU) member countries. 14,600 candidates from 481 different parties are vying for seats in the EP. 33 percent of the candidates are women.

The central right came out ahead in the 1999 elections, with the Christian Democrats controlling 294 chairs. The Socialists were the next most powerful group in the EP after the Christian Democrats.