More than 350 million people across 28 European countries are eligible to vote and to choose their next representatives that will sit here in the European Parliament.

歐洲 28 國超過 3.5 億人擁有投票資格以選出得以立法的歐洲議會議員。

But with 28 countries voting on different days, each with its own electoral laws and procedures, it's bound to get complicated.

但這 28 個國家得在不同天投票，各國皆有自己的選舉法規與程序，這場選舉勢必會變得複雜。

The first European parliamentary elections took place back in 1979, when only 9 countries were members of what was then called the European Economic Community.

歐洲第一場議會選舉始於 1979 年，歐盟的前身為當時的歐洲經濟共同體，只有九個會員國。

Since then, that community has expanded into what's now known as the European Union.

自此，歐洲經濟共同體便擴展至現今我們所熟知的歐洲聯盟。

And voters head to the polls every five years to elect the 751 members of the European parliament or MEPs.

選民每五年會前往投票，以選出歐洲議會中 751 席議會議員 (又稱 MEP)。

The number of MEPs assigned to each country varies and corresponds to the country's population.

各國被分配到的議員席位皆不同，且配合各國的人口數量。

For example, the EU's most populous country, Germany, elects 96 lawmakers, while Luxembourg only gets 6 seats.

舉例來說，德國為歐洲人口最多的國家，因此被分配到 96 席，而盧森堡則只有 6 個席次。

In some countries like Italy, MEPs represent a specific region.

在許多國家如義大利，不同的議員代表不同的地區。

In others like France, they represent the entire country.

而其他國家如法國，所有議員皆代表整個國家。

So now let's get into how all of these MEPs are actually elected.

那麼現在就來深入了解這些議會議員是如何獲選的吧！

Voting is open to all EU citizens, and in Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece and Luxembourg, it's actually compulsory.

所有歐盟公民都有權投票，而在比利時、保加利亞、賽普勒斯、希臘和盧森堡等國，參與歐洲議會選舉是一項義務。

This time around, the elections are spread over four voting days, between May 23rd and 26th.

今年，投票日為期四天，從 5 月 23 日起至 5 月 26 日。

Here in Belgium, citizens cast their vote on Sunday, whereas the British and the Dutch have their say on the previous Thursday.

比利時公民於星期日投票，而英國及荷蘭公民則在前一週星期四就投下自己的一票。

The results, however, are kept secret until every country has voted.

然而開票結果會在所有國家都完成投票之前，保持機密。

Next, let's talk about the method, or should I say methods, that the EU uses to elect its representatives.

接下來，我們來談談歐盟選出各國代表的投票方式，或者應該說各種投票方式。

Stay with me—this is where it gets a little bit tricky.

仔細聽囉，這邊開始變得稍微複雜。

Depending on where a voter is based, they could be using one of three systems.

根據選民的所在地，他們會在三種不同程序中使用其一進行投票。

The closed list, open list or single transferable vote system.

包含封閉式名單制、開放式名單制以及可轉移單票制。

What they all have in common is that they aim to achieve proportional representation.

這三種投票程序的共通點是，他們的目的都是為了達到名單比例代表制。

That means the number of votes a party gets, will directly correspond to the number of seats they receive in the European parliament.

這表示一黨獲得的票數會直接和該黨在歐洲議會獲得的席位一致。

In the closed list system, citizens vote for parties.

封閉式名單制中，歐盟公民會選擇政黨。

Those parties have already selected a fixed list of candidates.

這幾個政黨已各自選出固定候選人。

So if a party gets 20% of votes in a country allocated 10 MEPs;

所以如果一個黨獲得國家 20% 的票數，而該國被分配到的議員席次為 10 個席位；

The two top people on the party's list will become Members of the European Parliament.

該黨的首兩位候選人就會成為歐洲議會議員。

In the open list system, Europeans vote for a party, but can also indicate their favorite candidate.

開放式名單制中，歐盟公民選擇政黨，但也可以指出他們最喜愛的候選人。

This means voters can actually change the order of the party's list.

這表示選民其實可以更改候選人名單的順序。

Therefore influencing which of the party's candidates become MEPs.

也因此影響了最後將由哪個政黨的候選人擔任歐洲議會議員。

In the single transferable vote system, voters can choose as many candidates as they like and then number them by preference.

在可轉移單票制中，選民得以選擇所有他們喜愛的候選人，並依優先順序編號。

These votes are counted in phases.

這些票數會按不同階段進行開票。

First, people's number one preferences are counted.

首先，選民的首選票數會先被計算。

Any candidate who passes a certain quota of votes is elected.

只要達到一定票數定額，該候選人就當選。

Any votes exceeding that quota are then changed into the ballot's second preference.

超過該定額的所有票數則被轉移到投票中的第二優先候選人。

And transferred to the other candidates.

以及其他候選人的票數上。

If there still aren't enough votes to reach the quota, the candidate with the lowest amount of votes is eliminated.

若該候選人的票數還是沒達到定額，得到最少票數的候選人就會被淘汰。

And those votes are transferred to the second preference too.

被淘汰者的票數就會被轉移到第二優先候選人的票數上。

This process is repeated until all seats up for election are filled.

這個程序會不斷地重複，直到所有席次都有人選為止。

One more thing.

還有一件事。

Some countries have what's called an electoral threshold.

有些國家有所謂的選舉門檻。

Which means that a party or a candidate needs to get a certain percentage of the national vote in order to get a seat here in Brussels.

也就是一個政黨或候選人的得票數必須達到國家投票中特定比率，才能在歐洲議會獲得席次。

This, in theory, keeps fringe or extremist parties from winning seats without meeting a minimum level of widespread support.

這樣的門檻照理來說能避免非主流或極端政黨未達最低支持率就獲得席次。

So citizens select their parties and candidates at a national level.

所以，歐盟公民以國家為單位選擇政黨與候選人。

They then align themselves with other EU politicians with similar views and form one big pan-EU group at the European Parliament.

獲選的議員則在歐洲議會，和其他有著相同觀點的歐盟政治人物聚集成一整個跨歐洲團體。

These alliances help stand-alone parties and independent politicians gain more influence.

這些盟友會協助獨立政黨和政治人物獲得更多影響力。

The big elephant in the room is of course Brexit.

當然，還有大家避而不談的英國脫歐問題。

The European Parliament's 751 seats will shrink down to 705 once the U.K. leaves the European Union.

一但英國退出歐盟，歐洲議會的 751 個席位將縮減至 705 個席位。

The plan is to reallocate some of those seats to under-represented countries like France, Spain, Italy and the Netherlands.

原計畫是將這些席次重新分配給一些席次分配不足的國家，像是法國、西班牙、義大利和荷蘭。

There was another proposal on the table too—transnational lists.

還有一項提議是：跨歐洲名單。

It would have transformed U.K. seats into seats for a pan-European constituency.

也就是利用英國所空出的席次，讓選民得以投給跨國候選人。

Its advocates, who include the likes of French President Emmanuel Macron, say it would strengthen the European democracy

主張跨歐洲名單的人包含法國總統馬克宏，他認為這能鞏固歐洲民主政治。

by forcing parties to discuss European, not just national, issues.

這迫使政黨必須討論全面性的歐洲議題，而非侷限於國家。

EU lawmakers have rejected this idea but it does bring us back to why this year's European elections are seen as so important.

這項提案遭否決，但這也帶我們回到了重點：為什麼今年的歐洲議會選舉如此重要？

Pro-Europe parties have dominated the Parliament, but nationalists and eurosceptics are gaining traction.

親歐派政黨長期控制歐洲議會，但民族主義派與反親歐派越來越受歡迎。

Whoever sits in the European Parliament will help determine what happens next in this economic and political union.

不論坐在歐洲議會中的議員有誰，他們都將決定這個政治經濟聯盟未來的政策走向。