Cyprus Government regrets low turnout in Euro elections

The Cyprus government expressed on Tuesday regret over the low turnout of the Cypriot voters in last Saturday's European elections.

In statements to the press, Government Spokesman Stephanos Stephanou said that this phenomenon should be viewed as a European one, given the reduced turnout in European-wide elections since the establishment of direct elections for the members of European Parliament (MEP) in 1979.

Head of the EP delegation in Cyprus Tasos Georgiou said that Cyprus presents the highest voter abstention in the Euro elections. Cypriot turnout in June 2004 elections, a month after the island's accession to the EU, reached 72.5% while in 2009 it shrank to 59.64%.

''This phenomenon should be viewed in the framework of the European-wide abstention and the critical analysis should focus on the EU relations with the European citizens,'' Stefanou said.

The Spokesman acknowledged that the fact that the elections were held on Saturday prior to a long weekend – given that Monday was a religious holiday – should be considered as one of the reasons for the low turnout, adding however that this cannot be considered as the sole reason.

Furthermore, Stephanou described the election result as ''a vindication of government policy regarding the Cyprus problem and domestic governance'', noting that ''during the election campaign the policies of the government and the President were under severe criticism.''

Meanwhile, the Spokesman expressed satisfaction with the smooth way the elections were conducted, and conveyed the government's congratulations to the six Cypriot members of the EP.

He added that President Demetris Christofias has contacted all six Cypriot MEPs and communicated to them ''both the government's and his own readiness to cooperate fully with a view to safeguard and promote the vital interests of the country and of our people.''