Three buses departed from towns in the north to take Turkish Cypriots to the Republic to vote in the European parliament elections on Sunday morning.

The buses departed at 9am from Kyrenia, Lapithos, and Trikomo, bound for Ayios Dhometios in Nicosia, Astromeritis, and Deryneia respectively.

Mete, one of the passengers departing from Kyrenia, told the Cyprus Mail he was going to vote “because something needs to change”.

“The current order of things is not a smooth ride for us, and for that reason, if we cannot make our voices heard here, let’s go and make our voices heard over there,” he added.

Tufan, a volunteer who was facilitating the buses’ running, said, “our slogan has been ‘my vote is my voice’, so we want to go and make our voices heard.”

The bus leaving Kyrenia was not full, with some who had booked their places not having arrived on time, and some seats not having been booked in the first place.

However, more people were expected to board stops in various villages on the way to the Ayios Dhometios crossing point, as well as at the crossing point itself.

The buses had been organised by the Human Rights Platform (IHP), with the route between Kyrenia and Nicosia having been financed by the Nicosia Turkish Municipality (LTB).

A total of 103,269 Turkish Cypriots who live in the north have registered to vote in the European parliament elections, as well as 834 Turkish Cypriots who live in the Republic.

There are a total of 32 polling stations opened for Turkish Cypriots, which are located in the Nicosia, Larnaca, and Famagusta districts.

Three Turkish Cypriots are standing as candidates; incumbent MEP Niyazi Kizilyurek of Akel, Oz Karahan of the Green Party, and Hulusi Kilim of Volt.