Voter turnout in the European Parliament elections is estimated to be around 51%, according to initial reports, the European Union legislature announced on Sunday evening.

This initial estimate is up from 50.66% in 2019, according to parliament figures. “This is a positive sign for European democracy,” a spokesman for the parliament said.

The spokesman said this increase in turnout was in the majority of EU countries, stressing however that as Italy was still voting, this estimated turnout figure could yet change.

The parliament is elected for a new term every five years in a poll that could see up to 360 million people across the 27 EU member states cast their ballots over four days.