The electoral service has issued detailed instructions and contact information for voters ahead of the parliamentary elections next Sunday, alongside clarification of valid voting marks and preference rules.

In an announcement issued on Saturday, officials said a national information line is available on 77 77 22 12, with provincial numbers also in operation for voter queries.

These include Nicosia 22 804 340, Limassol 25 806 440, Famagusta 23 828 578, Larnaca 24 205 999, Paphos 26 801 142 and an interior ministerial line on 22 867 640.

The service operates Monday to Friday from 8am to 6pm and on Saturday from 8am to 1pm.

Officials said members of the public may call to confirm polling station details, replacing electoral booklets, voting hours and the number of permitted preference crosses per district.

Voters were also reminded of the correct way to cast a valid ballot.

The announcement said only the marks “X”, “+” or “✔” are accepted, adding that any other mark or identifying symbol will invalidate the ballot.

It said voters must mark either a party combination or an individual candidate in the designated square.

It added that voters cannot select candidates from different combinations or mix party lists and independents on the same ballot, as this would render the vote invalid.

On preference voting, the announcement set out limits by district.

These are Nicosia five crosses, Limassol three, Famagusta three, Larnaca two, Paphos two and Kyrenia one.

Officials said that if more preference crosses are marked than allowed, they will be ignored, while the vote for the party list remains valid if the ballot is otherwise correctly completed.

The statement also clarified rules regarding party leaders.

It said that in some cases leaders are automatically allocated preference votes corresponding to their list and therefore do not require a cross.

However, it added that where a square is printed next to a leader’s name, a preference mark is required.

Officials listed candidates who do not require preference crosses are as follows:

Annita Dimitriou of Disy, Stefanos Stefanou of Akel, Nicolas Papadopoulos of Diko, Christos Christou of Elam, Odysseas Michaelides of Alma, Kyriakos Andreou of the Greens, Christos Clerides of Demal (Democratic Change) and Celestina De Petro of the ‘Far Left Resistance’.

All other candidates, including party leaders, require preference crosses to be elected, with those being; Stavros Papadouris of the Ecologists, Nikolaos Prodromou of the Hunter’s movment, Andromache Sophocleous and Panos Loizou Parras of Volt, Fidias Panayiotou of Direct Democracy of Cyprus, Sotiris Christou of Siko Pano, Andreas Themistocleous of Dek, Andreas Christofi of the Agrarians, Marianna Athanasiou of the ‘Spartans’ and Apostolos Apostolou of the ‘People’s Freedom Struggle’.

The elections service said further information and instructional material is available through the official elections’ portal at elections.gov.cy.