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As the votes are being counted in the European parliamentary election, conservatives appear to be heading for victory.

Some initial results and exit polls suggest left-leaning parties will lose seats. And the voter turn out for this election is the lowest in history.

Across the European Union, voters in 27 nations cast their votes for the EU parliament on Sunday.

An EU estimate suggests only 43 percent of the 375 million eligible voters cast ballots in European parliament elections, a historical low.

Early projections by the EU showed center-right parties would have the most seats - between 263 and 273 - in the 736-member parliament.

Center-left parties were expected to get between 155 and 165 seats.

Joseph Daul, Chairman of European People's Party, said, "It means that the centre-right is governed by responsible men and women. And that even during the crisis, citizens are more interested in the centre-right than the socialists. This is the first analysis that I can give."

Exit polls also showed gains for far-right groups and other fringe parties.

Fringe groups could use the EU parliament as a platform for extreme views but were not expected to affect the assembly's main policies.

Sarah Hagemann, Analyst of European Policy Center, said, "I think that we will see a parliament that will continue along the same path that it has been on, but I think that it is important to stress that this fragmentation and the fact that we will see a number of also extremist right-wing candidates coming into the parliament, it also does something to the image of the parliament overall and that is noted. At the moment we are seeing a lot of attention paid to these candidates."

The EU parliament votes on, or amends, two-thirds of all EU laws. It can amend the EU budget, and approves candidates for the European Commission, the EU administration and the board of the European Central Bank.

Lawmakers get five-year terms and residents vote for members from own countries.