Elections Service working intensely to prepare for 9 June elections

The Elections Service of the Ministry of Interior is feverishly working to have everything ready for the European elections and the local administration elections by 9 June, the day of the elections, Menelaos Vasiliou, the head of the service has said, noting that it is the first time that eight different elections will be held simultaneously.

Elections will be held for the European Parliament members, Mayors, Deputy Mayors, Municipal Councils, Community Leaders, members of Community Councils, Presidents of District administration organizations, and members of School Boards.

Speaking to the Cyprus News Agency (CNA) Vasiliou stated, that the last day for registration in the electoral roll, as well as for submitting declarations for voting at overseas polling stations, is 2 April.

Regarding the number of voters, there are special registers for Cypriots, Europeans, and Turkish Cypriots.

"Until 2 January, we had 569,086 registered voters, of which 557,578 are included in the permanent electoral roll, namely Cypriots, including 735 Turkish Cypriots. We have the special electoral roll of European citizens residing in Cyprus for local government, which numbers 11,559, and the special roll of Europeans for the European elections, which numbers 10,317. We have the special register for Turkish Cypriots residing in the occupied territories, which currently numbers 82,925," he added.

It is estimated that around 1,850 polling stations will operate. Polling stations are also expected to operate abroad, in Greece, England, and Belgium.

Candidacies for the European elections will be submitted on 24 April while the next day, 25 April, for municipal councils, Presidents of District Administration Organizations, and members of School Boards, and on 29 April for community councils.

The approved budget for the election expenses is €6,650,000.

Vasiliou said the sorting and counting of votes will be done at the polling stations but it is too early to estimate when the final results for the eight elections on the same night, will be ready.

However, the initial results will be announced within an hour and a half after the polling stations close.

"It involves eight electoral counts simultaneously on the same day, which means there are various specialised polling stations for Cypriots, Europeans, and Turkish Cypriots, many ballots that will require increased time for someone to vote, and increased time for sorting and counting the votes," Vasiliou concluded.

(Source: CNA)