Elections running smoothly says justice minister

The second round of voting in the presidential elections went smoothly and no issues were reported, with the exception of one voter caught trying to take a picture of his ballot paper, Justice Minister Stephie Drakou and Police Chief Stelios Papatheodorou said in a joint statement on Sunday.

Drakou said she had the opportunity to visit various voting stations for the second Sunday in a row, where she found that all operations were proceeding without a hitch.

She added that information provided to her by the Police Rapid Response Unit (MMAD) also reported no problems nationwide, adding that the police will remain on high alert until late on Sunday in order to ensure security and order later during the announcement of the new President of the Republic and the consequent celebrations.

Papatheodorou said that police are following the operational plan laid out last week, adding that the proclamation of the new president will take place at the Eleftheria stadium in Nicosia.

“That will entail additional security measures and more officers on duty in order to protect the new president,” he said.

Papatheodorou said that the police will wait until the election process is completed before investigating the incidents involving people taking pictures of their ballot papers.

Furthermore, the police chief said that despite the heavy snowfall in mountains over the past week, access to voting stations was not affected.