Nicosia, Cyprus. More than half a million voters are casting ballots on Sunday to elect the 56 members of parliament who will represent them for the next five years. The vote is the largest yet in terms of candidates, with 744 people standing for 19 political parties and eight independents.
Candidate field and party contests
Of the 744 candidates, 520 are men and 224 are women. In the 2021 parliamentary elections, there were 651 candidates, compared with 493 in 2016.
Attention is focused on the performance of the newer parties, Direct Democracy, Alma and Volt, as they compete against the established parties Disy and Akel. They also face Elam, Diko, Dipa, Edek and the Ecologists’ Movement, some of which are not expected to win seats.
Voting and counting timetable
A total of 569,182 people are eligible to vote, an increase of 11,081 from the last election. The figure does not include the 595 enclaved in the north who will also vote on Sunday.
Voting began at 7am, with polling stations closing at 6pm after a one-hour break at noon. Votes will be counted at the polling stations rather than at a central location.
Exit polls will be carried out immediately after polling stations close. Initial results from small polling stations are expected as early as 6.30pm, while the percentages and number of seats for each party should be known by 9.30pm. The names of the new MPs from each party are expected to become clear after 1.30am on Monday.
Seats by district and uncontested representatives
Nicosia has 19 seats, Limassol 12, Famagusta 11, Larnaca six, Paphos four and Kyrenia three.
Representatives of religious groups in parliament for the Armenian and Latin communities have already been declared unopposed. They are Vartkes Mahdessian and Antonella Lydia Mantovani. For the Maronites, two candidates are running and will be elected on Sunday.
What will be the result of the new parties in Cyprus’s election?