How Much An Election Costs

Today was the election day in Turkey and next Sunday is an election day here in my home country Greece. Elections are a crucial part of the democratic process and play a significant role in shaping a country's political landscape. But what almost every time comes in my mind is how much does an election costs?

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Now lets take as an example the National Election that took place in Greece back in 2019
According to data from the Ministry of Interior, the cost of running the last general election was approximately €50 million. This cost included everything from the printing of ballots to the hiring of polling stations and staff.
Of course that are the cost of running the process of the election we will also have to take into account the funding the parties receive In Greece, political parties receive state funding based on the number of votes they receive in the elections. The funding is provided to help parties cover their operating expenses, such as salaries, office rent, and campaigning costs. The amount of funding that each party receives depends on the number of votes they receive in the previous election.

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According to the latest information available, the amount of state funding for political parties in Greece is around €50 million per year. This funding is distributed among the parties based on the number of seats they hold in parliament. In addition, parties also receive funding for their campaigns during election periods, which is determined by the Central Electoral Service.

Of course every 4 year we also hold the regional elections so lets add those too . according to a report by the Hellenic Parliament's Budget Office, the cost of the 2019 regional elections was estimated to be around 58 million euros.

And we also have one more election and that is the European Parliament Elections that being held every 5 years , the cost of the 2019 European Parliament elections in Greece was approximately €41.5 million.European Parliament elections in Greece is partially covered by the European Union. Specifically, the EU provides funding for the organization of the elections, and the Greek state covers the remaining expenses.

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So adding all that we have
250 Millions to the parties as state funding
108 Million for National and Regional elections
41.5 Millions for European Parliament Elections
399.5 Millions in total
Greece had a GDP of 183 Billion Euros in 2019 so i would say that is a fairly big number .