The 2009 European Parliament elections move into their second day of full voting – some countries have allowed early voting – with electorates in Ireland and the Czech Republic heading to the polls on June 5 2009.
 
Ireland’s three million voters are to choose 12 MEPs, and turnout is projected to be higher than the EU expected average of 43 per cent.
 
Polls have suggested that things are not looking good for prime minister Brian Cowen’s Fianna Fail party, which is expected to shed ground to the main opposition party Fianna Gael.
 
Being closely watched is the performance of Libertas, which has its roots in the anti-Lisbon Treaty campaign in Ireland but in these elections is seeking a wider European reach. However, opinion surveys indicated that Libertas leader Declan Ganley, contesting a north-western constituency, might not win a seat. Ganley is one of three Libertas members contesting MEP seats in Ireland.
 
The Czech Republic begins voting on June 5 and concludes on June 6, to elect 22 MEPs. During its time as the six-month rotating president of the EU, the Czech Republic has seen political dramas that precipitated a change of leadership, and polls currently say that the Social Democrats and Civic Democrats are running even.
 
Voting in the 2009 European Parliament elections continues on June 6 in Cyprus, Italy, Latvia, Malta and Slovakia.

In Cyprus, which will elect six MEPs, there was no certainty about which party would emerge in the lead.

Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, whose country will send 72 members to the European Parliament, hasheaded a campaign that surveys say will get his party the largest share of votes, in spite of a controversy in the media about his alleged relationship with a teenage model, an allegation that Berlusconi denies.

In Latvia, which has eight MEPs, two of the governing coalition parties are projected to win seats, the New Era party of prime minister Valdis Dombrovskis and the Civic Union, one of the Civic Union’s four minority partners in the coalition.

Malta has five MEPs. While one of the most major issues facing it at EU level is the bloc’s procedure against it for running an excessive deficit, the campaign has been fought mainly on domestic issues. On June 4, Malta today said that the opposition labour party was in the lead over the governing nationalists, while the Greens were said to have made gains.

In Slovakia, which has 13 MEPs, media reports quoted analysts as saying that the election campaign had lacked genuine European political debate, and that instead of presenting their positions on topical European issues, most political parties promised to defend "national" or "Slovak" interests in Europe, Euractiv.com said.