Cyprus ready to hit the EP polls

05/06/2009

A large voter turnout is expected in Cyprus, as well as in 33 polling stations abroad.

By Christos Ringas for Southeast European Times in Athens -- 05/06/09

Voters get a chance to cast their ballots Saturday (June 6th) in the EP election. [Getty Images]

Cyprus will hold its European Parliament (EP) election Saturday (June 6th), and tally the votes the following day, despite the Orthodox holiday of Pentecost, or Kataklysmos, that falls on Monday.

Bucking the trend elsewhere in Europe, voter turnout is expected to be high. Upwards of 70% of registered voters packed the polls in 2004, and numbers are likely to be above the European average of approximately 45% for a second straight time.

About 500,000 people are registered to vote in Cyprus, which has a total population of nearly 800,000. Approximately 28% of citizens are under the legal voting age of 18.

A swirl of domestic issues, not European ones, seemed to generate a buzz among voters according to Myria Vassiliadou, a sociologist and head of the European Women's Lobby.

"Political parties in Cyprus are predominantly discussing national issues. The few European topics that are being debated -- and I want to be clear that there are very few -- tend to centre around migration and border control and the financial crisis. But the financial crisis seems to be hitting Cyprus quite late and not as hard as other European countries, therefore it is not much of an issue," said Vassiliadou, in an interview last month with the daily NRC Handelsblad.

Cyprus has six seats to fill in Strasbourg, the same as in the previous election. A total of 736 members from the 27-nation bloc make up the EP.

In an effort to accommodate voters, ballots will be issued in both Greek and Turkish and 33 polling stations have been set up abroad, including 20 in Greece and five in the UK.

Nearly 10,000 voters are expected to use the polling stations.

"We hope this will be possible, so as to serve more people and limit the distance they need to travel to the polling stations," said President Demetris Christofias.

In the 2004 election, the Democratic Rally (DISY) won the popular vote with 28.2%. The Progressive Party of Working People (AKEL) finished a close second at 27.9%, and the Democratic Party (DIKO) was third at about 17.1%.

According to EP web site, political parties receive a grant from the government to fund their campaigns, based on their performances in the previous election.