The government is fully prepared to hold and facilitate the forthcoming parliamentary elections, President Nikos Christodoulides said on Friday.

“The state apparatus is fully prepared to cope with these parliamentary elections, which have the most candidates to date, so that on election day, everything will run smoothly, without any problems whatsoever,” he said during a visit to a school in Nicosia.

Exactly 753 people filed candidacies for the forthcoming parliamentary elections on Wednesday, vying to win one of the 56 seats in the House. Those candidates belong to no fewer than 19 political parties, with a number of candidates also sitting as independents.

Chief returning officer Elikkos Elia said that the number of candidates and parties is the highest in history, with the previous high for both – 651 candidates and 15 parties – having been set last time around in 2021.

Of the 56 seats which will be up for election later this month,19 will belong to MPs from the Nicosia district, 12 to MPs from the Limassol district, 11 to MPs from the Famagusta district, six to MPs from the Larnaca district, five to MPs from the Paphos district, and three to MPs from the Kyrenia district.

The Paphos district gained an extra seat ahead of May’s election due to the growth in its voting population, with that gain coming at the Nicosia district’s expense.

The Republic of Cyprus’ constitution initially foresaw a parliament with 50 voting members, of whom 35 would be Greek Cypriots and 15 would be Turkish Cypriots, as well as non-voting observers belonging to the Armenian, Latin, and Maronite communities.

Following the breakdown of constitutional order and the outbreak of intercommunal violence in 1963, the Turkish Cypriots were unable to return to their seats in parliament, leaving just 35 voting members.

That figure was raised to 56 Greek Cypriots ahead of the 1985 parliamentary elections after the constitution was altered using the doctrine of necessity. The amendment foresees 24 Turkish Cypriots also being elected, but with the Cyprus problem remaining unsolved, this has not yet happened.