Voters are heading to the polls today to elect the 56 MPs who will represent them in Parliament for the next five years, in an electoral process that is considered extremely crucial and decisive for the country's future.
In today's parliamentary elections, a total of 753 candidates are vying for the citizens' votes, with 744 on the ballots of 19 political formations and nine running as independents.
The electoral process, where 569,182 voters are eligible to vote, will conclude at 6pm, with the results regarding the party combinations being announced in the early evening, while the results regarding the elected members of parliament will be announced in the early hours of Monday morning.
Voting begN at 7am and adjourns for one hour at noon. It resumes at 1pm and continues normally until 6pm It is noted that, if necessary, the presiding officer may, at his/her absolute discretion, extend voting hours at his/her polling station until midnight, provided that there are voters outside waiting to vote.
A total of 529 candidacies or 70.3% are men and 224 candidacies or 29.7% are women while the number of registered voters in the parliamentary elections is 568,587 and a total of 1,217 polling stations are operating.
The number of registered voters by Electoral District is as follows: Nicosia 198,553, Limassol 116,924, Famagusta 116,392, Larnaca 60,489, Paphos 47,384, Kyrenia 28,845, total 568,587.
It is noted that the above numbers also include 859 Turkish Cypriots, holders of an identity card of the Republic of Cyprus and with an address in the government-controlled areas.
It is also clarified that 595 enclaved persons (335 from the Kyrenia Electoral District and 260 from the Famagusta Electoral District) are also entitled to vote, who are not included in the above numbers.
In the Nicosia district, which elects 19 MPs, voters may cast up to five preference votes. In the Limassol district, which will elect 12 MPs, voters are entitled to cast up to three preference votes. In Famagusta, which will elect 11 MPs, voters can cast up to three preference votes. In Larnaca, which will have six MPs, voters can cast up to two preference votes. Voters in Paphos district which will have four MPs, voters will be able to cast up to two preference votes, and voters in Kyrenia district, which will elect three MPs, will be able to cast one preference vote.
In order to be able to vote, citizens must show either their ID card of the Republic of Cyprus, their voter's booklet while for the first time a digital identity card will also be accepted, through the 'Digital Citizen' application.
More information on how and where to vote is available at https://www.gov.cy/moi-elections/en/ and at 77 77 22 12.
Polling stations are also operating in Greece, the United Kingdom and Belgium.
In Athens, voting is taking place at the Embassy of the Republic of Cyprus, from 7am to 6pm, with a break from noon to 1pm. In Thessaloniki, the polling station is operating at the 2nd General Lyceum of Thessaloniki, during the same hours. In the United Kingdom, two polling stations are operating in London, one at the High Commission of the Republic of Cyprus and one at the Cyprus Community Centre in Wood Green. Voting hours are from 8am to 4pm, with a break from noon to 12.30pm. In Brussels, the polling station is located at the Permanent Representation of Cyprus to the European Union. Voting hours are from 8am to 5pm. with a break from noon to 1pm.
It is estimated that two hours after the polls close, it will be possible to determine which political parties will be represented in Parliament, as well as the number of MPs from each party.
The official announcement will take place at noon on Monday, 25 May, at Nicosia Municipal Theatre.
The representative of the Maronite religious group at the House of Representatives will also be elected today. The two candidates are Marios Mavridis and Petros Nakouzis.
It is noted that the representatives of the Latin and Armenian religious groups at the House of Representatives have already been elected automatically after no opposing candidacies were submitted. Antonella Lydia Mantovani was declared representative of the Latin religious group, while Vartkes Mahdessian was declared representative of the Armenian religious group.
(Sources: Reporter, CNA)
