The number of citizens who have registered to vote in February’s presidential elections is around 561,000, Chief Returning Officer of Presidential Elections, Costas Constantinou said.
The final number of registered voters will be known on January 10, after electoral lists are updated with the details of new voters.
According to Constantinou, over 10,500 citizens have registered as new voters for the 2023 presidential elections.
“The total number of Cypriot citizens over the age of 18 who are eligible to vote is 724,619. About 172,000 of our fellow citizens, who are registered in the population register have not registered to vote,” Constantinou said, explaining that many of them cannot do so because they reside abroad.
He added that of the 172,000 who are not registered in the electoral rolls, around 72,000 are aged 18-25. Of this number, about 24,000 have not expressed interest in registering on the rolls.
Polling stations abroad
The number of polling stations in the presidential elections will be around 1,150, Constantinou stressed. Also, 35 electoral centres will be set up in 25 cities abroad to serve Cypriot voters, the majority of them being in Greece and the United Kingdom.
Specifically, in Greece, polling stations will be open in Athens, Thessaloniki, Volos, Ioannina, Komotini, Larissa, Patras, Heraklion and Rethymno.
In the United Kingdom, polling stations will be open in Glasgow, Leeds, two in London – the High Commission building and the Cyprus Community Centre in North London – Manchester, Birmingham and Bristol.
Polls will also open in Berlin, Vienna, Brussels, Brussels, Paris, Luxembourg, Sofia, Stockholm, The Hague, New York and Dubai.
Voters abroad who live in areas where polling stations will not open, can, until Friday, January 6 declare whether they will exercise their right to vote in one of the 25 cities, or in Cyprus.
Regarding the presidential candidates, Constantinou said that 16 persons have received nomination forms since December 23. The last deadline for submitting applications to run in the presidential elections is Thursday, January 5.
Candidates must be citizens of the Republic of Cyprus over the age of 35 years who have not been accused of crimes relating to moral turpitude, who have not had their right to stand removed by a court prior to the elections and who are not mentally incapable of performing the duties of President.
Presidential elections in Cyprus take place every five years.
