EU vote turnout estimate at around 50%
BRUSSELS, May 26 (Reuters) - The European Parliament's first turnout estimate for bloc-wide elections came at between 49 and 52 percent on Sunday evening, compared to a final reading of 42.61 percent in the last European elections in 2014.
A European Parliament official announcing the figure said the turnout was on track to be the highest in some two decades and marked a reversal of a long-running trend of falling voters' participation.
For 27 EU states except the United Kingdom, the turnout estimate was at 51 percent, the official said.
Germany's Green party doubled its share of the Sunday vote, leaping into second place behind Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives and above the center-left Social Democrats. (Reporting by Gabriela Baczynska)
