Press Releases

Statements by the Chief Returning Officer, Dr Elikkos A. Elia, and the Elections Officer of Lefkosia, Mr Andreas Hadjipakkos 

The Elections Officers of all electoral constituencies handed over today the ballot boxes to the Presiding Officers of the 1,864 polling stations, which will operate on the day of the Elections, 9 June 2024. The handover procedure for the Lefkosia District was attended this morning by the Chief Returning Officer, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Interior, Dr Elikkos A. Elia, and the Elections Officer of Lefkosia, District Officer of Lefkosia, Mr Andreas Hadjipakkos.

In his statements, the Chief Returning Officer stated that more than 9,000 employees will work along with 3,000 police officers for the successful conduct of one of the most complex electoral procedures on Sunday, 9 June. “Today, the handover of ballot boxes in all districts takes place. 1,847 polling stations will operate in Cyprus and another 17 abroad, in Greece, the United Kindgom (UK) as well as in Brussels,” Dr Elia said.

Dr Elia invited voters to exercise their right to vote on Sunday, noting that the voting process will begin at 7 a.m. until 12 noon, and it will resume at 1 p.m. until 6 p.m., when it will be concluded. “I am certain that people will come to vote. Voters only need their ID cards or, if preferred, they can use only their voter ID card. I therefore believe that the voter turnout percentage in these elections will be increased. These elections mark the reform of Local Government, in addition to the Election of Members of the European Parliament,” he stated.            

The Chief Returning Officer explained that the Elections will take place for the election of Members of the European Parliament, Presidents of the District Organisations of Local Government, Mayors, Deputy Mayors, Community Leaders, Municipal Councillors, Members of the Community Councils and Members of the School Boards.

According to Dr Elia, the publication of the results is expected to begin on Sunday evening. He expressed the view that around 7:30 p.m., we will gradually be informed of the results concerning Mayors and Deputy Mayors as well as the Community Leaders. He noted that the names of the elected Members of the European Parliament, the Municipal Councillors, the Community Council Members as well as the Members of School Boards will be published on Monday morning.

Asked to comment on the procedure of receiving and guarding the ballot boxes until the day of the Elections, the Chief Returning Officer explained that the Presiding Officers of each polling station receive the ballot boxes and are assigned with the task of guarding them until Sunday. He further noted that on Sunday morning, before the ballot boxes are opened, the Presiding Officers will stamp the ballot papers with the official stamp of the Republic of Cyprus. According to Dr Elia, all ballot papers for all elections will be placed in one ballot box and the sorting and counting of votes for each electoral procedure will then take place at the polling stations.   

Finally, the Chief Returning Officer reminded that the voters in municipalities will receive up to six ballot papers and the voters in Communities up to four. He reiterated that for Communities, voters also vote for the President of the Distirict Organisation of Local Government and for Members of the European Parliament, further to the Community Leaders and the Members of the Community Councils.

On his part, the Elections Officer of Lefkosia stated that in the District of Lefkosia there will be 689 ballot boxes with approximately 225,000 voters, which corresponds to 38% of the total number of voters in Cyprus. “There are 23 polling stations for Turkish Cypriots and we stand ready to assist all Turkish Cypriot voters who wish to vote. We have implemented new technologies for transmitting the results electronically as well as other procedures. I hope that in this way we will reduce the time needed to publish the results as well as the number of any possible mistakes,” Mr Hadjipakkos concluded.  

(EP/MS/GS)