Right to vote
Any citizen of the Republic of Cyprus or a citizen of another EU Member State who reaches the age of 18 by the date of the elections is entitled to vote, provided that they have been registered on the relevant electoral roll (see further information under unit «General Information»).

Voting hours
Voting is direct and by secret ballot. . It begins at 7:00 am and adjourns for one hour at 12:00 noon. It resumes at 1:00 pm and continues normally until 6:00 p.m. It is noted that, if necessary, the presiding officer may, at his absolute discretion, extend voting hours at his polling station until midnight, provided that there are voters outside waiting to vote.

Identification of the voter
For the voter to be accepted at the polling station and receive a ballot paper in order to vote, he must:

(a) Be registered on the relevant electoral roll of the polling station in question. If he is registered on the electoral roll of a different polling station, he shall be instructed by the elections officials to reach the appropriate polling station and vote.


If a person qualified to vote has failed to ensure in good time that he is registered on the electoral roll, it would be pointless to discuss with the polling station staff. The procedure for drawing up the electoral roll shall end well in advance of the election day and no alteration or rectification of the roll may be made either by adding or removing the name of any voter on the electoral roll. The Presiding officer of the polling station shall not have any right to rectify the electoral roll. This work is carried out well in advance by the Electoral Service of the Ministry of the Interior.

(b) Present voter ID card or identity card. Without a voter ID card or identity card, no one may vote, regardless of whether their name is registered on the electoral roll. It should be noted that, if the voter ID card is lost or damaged, the voter may replace it by submitting a relevant application to the District Officer concerned or the Elections Service of the Ministry of the Interior. An application for replacement of the voter ID card in the event of loss may be submitted up to one day before the elections.

Ballot papers
Ballot papers shall be printed on security paper and contain in separate numbered columns the lists and individual/independent candidates.

The parties shall appear on the ballot papers in alphabetical order, starting with the stand-alone parties, followed by party coalition lists, combinations of independent candidates and, at the end, independent/individual candidates.

In the column of each list, its emblem shall appear printed above its name, and underneath the list name shall appear the names of its candidates in the alphabetical order of their surname. Next to the name of each candidate, there is a box in which the voter may, if he so wishes, tick a preference cross.

Official stamp on the ballot papers
All voters without any exception should check their ballot papers and ensure that they are appropriately stamped with the official stamp of the Republic before withdrawing to the voting booth in order to cast their vote, as otherwise, the ballot papers shall be deemed invalid and shall not be taken into account during the counting.

Mode of voting
Every voter is entitled to vote only once. Officials on duty at the polling station shall hand over one ballot paper, duly stamped, to each voter. Ballot papers shall be folded in the form of a “concertina”, in such a way as to be easily opened and re-folded by voters when exercising their right to vote.

Upon receiving the ballot paper, the voter enters the voting booth and secretly marks the designated sign, i.e. «Χ» or «+» or «√» using a blue or black pen in the box under the list column, or next to the name of the individual candidate of his preference. Voters do not have the right to select candidates from different lists. They may vote either a list, even if their list of preference has fewer candidates than the number of municipal councillors corresponding to their municipal district or the number of the members of the community council, or one independent individual candidate. The voter may not vote simultaneously the list of his preference and any other independent candidate, as in such a case his ballot paper will be invalid.

Preference Crosses
If the elector decides to cast his vote to a list, he may, in addition, express his preference to one or more of the candidates on the list of his choice, by marking a cross or preference crosses inside the small boxes next to the names of each candidate. The total number of preference crosses should not exceed one (1) for every four (4) or fewer municipal councillors or one (1) for every two (2) or fewer members of the Community Council.

It should be stressed that the right of the voter to mark a cross or preference crosses to candidates on the list is not mandatory.

If the voter marks more preference crosses, than what is provided for, these shall be disregarded. In such a case, the ballot paper shall be considered valid and shall be deemed to be a party vote, in favour of the list in which the preference crosses were recorded, provided that no other list or individual candidate was voted.

How do blind persons vote
The presiding officer may explain the mode of voting to any voter, by diligently avoiding any action or move which may be considered as advice or instruction to vote in favour of a specific candidate.

A blind person or any person with a physical disability who is a voter, may vote unassisted if he/she so wishes, by simply informing the presiding officer that he/she is in a position to vote alone. A voter who due to blindness or any other physical disability is unable to vote, may request from the presiding officer in the presence of one of the polling station’s assistants or any other trusted person to be assisted in exercising his/her voting right as per his/her wish.

Change of the ballot paper due to it being damaged or destroyed
It should be stressed that the voter ought to be very cautions in order not to destroy his ballot paper out of negligence. However, if he destroys it inadvertently, he may return it to the presiding officer who ought to hand another ballot paper to the voter so that he may be able to vote. Damaged ballot papers shall be invalidated and kept by the presiding officer in a special file.

Secrecy of the vote
The vote is secret and in order to ensure the secrecy of the vote the appropriate measures shall be taken. At each polling station there are special polling booths where the voter can exercise his right to vote freely and directly under all secrecy.

Other measures to ensure the secrecy of the vote
The voting booths shall be positioned in such a way as to allow voters to vote without being seen by the polling station officers in charge. Party representatives shall be present at every polling station to monitor the electoral process and shall not have the right to intervene in any way in the electoral process.

Once the voter has voted, he shall fold his ballot paper and drop it personally in the ballot box, without allowing anyone to see what he has voted.

The voter is prohibited from entering any other sign/mark on the ballot paper, except for the ones defined by law, which are either «Χ» or «+» or «√». The formation of any other shape or letter or number by which the voter’s identity may be revealed shall be prohibited.

The removal of any substantial part or tearing of the ballot paper shall be prohibited.

The purpose of the above provisions is to protect voters from any pressure and/or undesirable interference aimed at influencing voters to vote any specific list or candidate against their will. In such a case, the ballot papers shall be considered invalid.