Eight different elections to be held on June 9

A total of 19,642 new voters have so far registered on the electoral roll, chief returning officer Menelaos Vasiliou said on Tuesday, reminding that it was also the final day to register to vote at home or abroad.

More specifically, among the new registered voters, 10,332 are Cypriot, of which 59 are Turkish Cypriots with addresses in government-controlled areas.

Another 7,750 voters are Europeans living in Cyprus who have registered for local government elections, while 1,560 more have registered for the European elections.

He noted that online voter registration will last until midnight while district administrations and citizen service centres will accept registrations until 5pm.

In relation to election centres abroad, Vasiliou said that there were 3,772 declarations, based on which Brussels, Athens, Thessaloniki, Patras, Komotini, Volos, Heraklion and Ioannina have secured a polling station.

In England, polling stations will be located in Manchester, London (two centres) and Birmingham. In Scotland, Glasgow is about to get enough registered voters to establish one as well.

The specificity of the June 9 elections lies in the fact that for the first time, eight elections will be held at the same time, said Vasiliou.

The June 9 elections will be held for members of the European Parliament and local authorities, which covers mayors, deputy mayors, municipal council members, community leaders, community council members, presidents of district self-government organisations and school board members.

Eligible to vote are all citizens of the Republic aged 18 and over, who have their habitual residence in Cyprus, as well as European citizens residing in Cyprus, who are also registered in the relevant electoral rolls.

The deadline for nominations for the European elections will be on April 24, while the deadline for local authorities, presidents of district self-government organisations and school board members will be the following day, and on April 29 for community councils.

The approved budget for elections expenditure is €6,650,000.

The counting of votes will take place at local polling stations.

Vasiliou pointed out that it is too early to assess what time the last results will be as they will involve the results of eight elections in the same night.

The first results, however, will be announced an hour to an hour and a half after the polls close.

He then gave a timeline, reminding that on April 12 the interior ministry will publish its decrees on elections conduct, and appoint elections officials.

On the subject, the interior ministry issued a statement saying that public officials, unemployed graduates and employees of public law organisations and the private sector can declare their interest in staffing polling stations.

This can be done through the elections website, and the deadline is midnight on Thursday April 11.

It was noted that declarations of interest can only be submitted through the above website, while with regard to unemployed graduates, a declaration can be submitted by those registered as unemployed at the labour ministry’s department of labour.

Vasiliou also said that on April 19, notices will be published by the chief returning officer and election officials to determine the dates and places for submitting nominations.

On May 10, another interior ministry decree will be issued, on the subdivision of the electoral divisions and the determination of electoral centres.

On May 31, there will be a publication of notification on the distribution of voters in the polling stations.

On June 10, there will be a declaration of those elected, return of Election Warrants by the chief returning officer and elections officials to the interior minister.