The European elections are one of the biggest democratic exercises in the world, second only to India.

EU citizens go to the ballot box every five years to elect members of the European Parliament.

Nearly 450 million people will be represented by 720 parliamentarians.

The European Parliament is special because it's the only directly elected institution in the EU. But in fact, the so-called European elections to choose these lawmakers are actually 27 national elections, where people vote for national parties and candidates.

The number of representatives from each EU country is based on the size of its population. Germany, with the highest population, has 96 European parliamentarians. The smallest countries, Cyprus, Luxembourg and Malta, are represented by six members each.

Most members of parliament organize themselves into multinational political groupings, from the far left to the far right.

The European Parliament does not select a government like national parliaments. But it does approve or reject members of the European Commission, the EU's executive arm.

Candidates for commissioner posts are put forward by the national EU governments — one from each member state.

The 2024 European elections run from June 6 to June 9, 2024. Results will be published on Sunday, June 9 after 6 p.m. Brussels time.