Following the signing of a new agreement with the creditors, and the dashing of expectations for the abolition of austerity measures imposed on Greece over the last five years, political developments have led to a resignation of the government, split of the SYRIZA party and a new appeal to the polls. On September 20, all adult Greek citizens will have the right to participate in the electoral process for the appointment of a new government. All of them? Well, not exactly …

Once again, Greeks living abroad are forced to abstain, unless they travel at their own expense to Greece in order to vote.

Their exact number remains unknown, with unofficial estimates varying between 300,000 and 3,000,000 voters. If we strictly calculate only those who are already registered on the electoral rolls and who will be outside Greek territory on election Sunday, my personal estimate is that we are talking about 800,000 people at least. That is approximately 8 per cent of the electorate (or more than 12.5 per cent of the votes cast, according to the results of last January’s elections). To understand the scale better, let’s imagine for a moment that general elections are held, where the inhabitants of Crete, the Cyclades and the Dodecanese are denied the right to participate. How unjust does this sound?

The arguments against the right of expatriate Greeks to vote are easy to rebut. First of all, it is something that the constitution anticipates, and the only reason we do not have a postal vote or another valid method of voting remotely is that no implementary law has passed through the parliament, determining the exact process and clarifying which and how many expatriate Greeks have the right to vote and stand for election. The filibuster in solving this problem is mainly due to petty political reasons, as in past decades the two major parties alternating in power preferred to offer free tickets only to their own voters, deepening the debts of Olympic Airways.

To claim that anyone who is absent from his country on the day of elections ceases to have the same rights as his compatriots is simply ridiculous. Many Greeks abroad have taxable assets in Greece, or contribute financially to their families back home. The students abroad and professionals on business trips also cannot vote, while the vast majority of the 350,000 (and counting) ‘neomigrants’ who left during the last five to six years do not yet meet the requirements to be entitled to acquire another citizenship in addition to their Greek one.

That results in ‘second class’ citizens, who lack the opportunity to elect a government anywhere in the world. And all that while almost all international citizens can vote from abroad whenever parliamentary elections are held in their country.

Having repeatedly dealt with this issue, I’m really angry at the continued trivialisation of democracy in my country. So angry, that I find it hard to recognise the legitimacy of any government resulting from elections in which expatriate Greeks are not allowed to participate.

Moreover, I think that the electoral law that gives a bonus of 50 parliamentary seats to the winning party (irrespectively of percentage) is completely undemocratic. Just keep in mind those seats would correspond to more than one million votes if a different law was applicable …

Therefore I urge all Greek citizens living abroad, whether they left recently or earlier, whether they reside there temporarily or permanently, to support New Diaspora’s cause to restore a democratic right that has been lost since 1862. Yes, you read that right. Last time Greeks abroad were able to vote in parliamentary elections from their place of residence was at a time when the newly-established Greek state was still ruled by King Otto.

Apart from a new collection of signatures, addressed to the head of state, the prime minister, the interior ministry and the Greek parliament, it would be good to resort to other forms of peaceful protest (aiming at bringing even more international attention to the issue). For example, you can shoot a five to ten second video of yourself, stating the country you live in, the fact that you cannot vote from abroad, and a short and simple argument why you should be able to do so, in Greek or English, and then either send it to us so we can publish it, or post it on YouTube, Vimeo, Vine or Instagram and send us the link. Alternatively, you can do the same with a photo, while holding your written message on a piece of paper. Recommended hashtags for social media are #ICannotVote and #LetGreeksAbroadVote.

Those who are able and willing to organise protests outside Greek embassies and consulates can set up a Facebook event, and we will promote it as long as you promise to send us a brief correspondence with pictures from your demonstration afterwards.

Meanwhile, lawyers and constitution specialists could inform us whether it is possible to resort to international courts, to lobby for an immediate change in Greek legislation, or to question the validity of any election result emerging on 20 September. Because, regardless of whether and how each one of us intends to vote, the country that gave birth to democracy is the last one entitled to invoke it when this democracy turns into a parody that systematically and deliberately distorts the popular will.

* Nikolaos Stampoulopoulos is the founder and creative director of New Diaspora.