Nicosia, Cyprus. Four student parties accused Disy’s student wing, Protoporia, of attempting to rig the University of Cyprus student union elections, which were suspended after a dispute over the allegations.
Allegations and joint statement
The accusations were made by Akel’s student wing Proodeftiki, Diko’s student wing Anagennisi, Edek’s student wing Agonas, and Voice of the Students, a non-aligned student party founded by bicommunal technical committee on youth member Christos Parmakkis.
In a joint statement, the four groups said they “unequivocally condemn the rigging that the Protoporia committed … at the University of Cyprus”.
Claims about ballot papers
The parties alleged that an “official” from Protoporia attempted to place more than five ballot papers into the ballot box.
They said that after the incident was noticed, Protoporia’s representative at the student union’s electoral commission intervened, tore up the ballot papers, and removed them from the scene, adding that the fate of the ballot papers remained unknown.
Suspension of the vote and responsibility
The four parties said they applied “intense pressure” on Protoporia to abandon the election process and that a joint decision was reached to suspend the elections and store the ballot papers and electoral rolls at a mutually agreed location.
They said responsibility for abandoning the elections rests “exclusively and completely” with Protoporia.
Position on process and transparency
The parties said the issue was not about ideology or party affiliation, describing it as a question of democracy and legitimacy and a matter of credibility and transparency in student elections.
They added that students have the “non-negotiable right” to choose their representatives through clean and impartial procedures, describing their account as “a record of the indisputable facts as they emerged”.
Protoporia response
Protoporia did not deny the sequence of events as described by the four other parties, but objected to the means used by the other parties, particularly Proodeftiki, to bring about the halting of the electoral proceedings.
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