CYPRUS: Holding European elections estimated to cost EUR 3.5 mln

Cyprus has budgeted around €3.5 mln to cover the cost of the upcoming European parliament elections on May 26 but interest in voting is low.

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Head of the electoral service Demetris Demetriou has told CAN that automatic inclusion in the electoral roll would be impossible for the upcoming European elections since the time left until May is too short.

President Nicos Anastasiades has sent back a bill passed earlier this month by parliament that allows anyone with a Cyprus Republic identity card living on the island to vote in the upcoming European elections without having to register on the electoral roll back to parliament.

Anastasiades said the change would cause practical problems because of the disruption to the civil registry that could not be overcome by May, and it would cost the state over €200,000 to implement.

If the bill became law, it would mean the automatic addition of some 102,000 people, Including 17,000 Turkish Cypriots.

"We will be waiting to see what will finally happen with the legislation Parliament has initiated and its referral…the process of registering new voters in the electoral roll and submitting statements for voting in polls abroad continues," Demetriou said.

New registered voters are slightly above 1,000, while only 200 voters have declared that they wish to vote in the elections abroad.

Other EU citizens voting in Cyprus this year are expected to be at similar levels to previous European elections, although British citizens may be excluded if Brexit takes place, Demetriou said.

Polls stations are expected to number around 1,050.