Police will ensure smooth running of elections

Cops, choppers and drones will be out in force on Sunday to monitor and ensure that voting in the presidential elections goes smoothly.

Two thousand police officers will be on duty, while helicopters and drones will monitor voting centres.

Some ballot boxes will even be delivered for counting by helicopters from remote communities, while all ballot boxes will be escorted by the police.

“Our mission is to safeguard the smooth and orderly conduct of the elections, to maintain law and order, the safety of the public and to offer any assistance where needed,” police spokesman Christos Andreou said on Friday.

He explained that the central crisis monitoring centre will be operational to coordinate efforts across all districts.

Andreou was also asked to comment on reports that some voters are being asked to provide proof of whom they vote for by taking a picture on their phone of their ballot.

He explained that mobile phones are strictly prohibited and in no case can they be used in the voting centres, neither during voting nor during the counting. Only the chief of the centre is allowed to use their phone, he concluded.