NICOSIA, May 30. /TASS/. Cyprus is holding elections to the House of Representatives, the unicameral parliament of the country, on Sunday. The country’s main legislative body is elected for a five-year term.
Formally, the House of Representatives of Cyprus has 80 seats, of which 70% (56 seats) are held by the Greek Cypriot community of the island, and the remaining 30% (24 seats) go to the Turkish community. However, the latter has not taken part in elections to the Parliament of the Republic of Cyprus since 1964, and these 30% of the seats are considered vacant.
In total 658 candidates from 15 political parties as well as seven independents are to stand for 56 seats in these elections. About a quarter of the total number of candidates (160 or 24.31%) are women.
Currently, 557,589 voters are registered on the island including 247 residents of the Greek Cypriot enclaves in the Turkish north of the island, as well as 265 prisoners. For those participating in voting on the island from 07:00 (the same as Moscow time), 1,166 polling stations open, which will close at 18:00. Another 10 polling stations will open abroad: four in Athens, four in London and two in the Greek city of Thessaloniki.
Pre-election forecasts
According to political analysts, the citizens’ discontent with the existing forms of combating the pandemic, the corruption scandal around the now canceled program of granting Cypriot citizenship in exchange for investments in the island's economy, as well as a near-deadlock situation regarding the prospects for solving the Cyprus problem will have serious impact on the mood of voters. The general apathy and level of distrust towards the current political elites among the population of Cyprus is growing today, which can play into the hands of the radical forces, analysts say.
In such a situation, experts predict a high percentage of protest voting and a low voter turnout. They also predict a victory of the ruling center-right Democratic Rally party with a slight advantage over the left-oriented Progressive Party of Working People, and put the Democratic Party in third place in their forecasts, quite significantly behind the first two political forces.
Political analysts believe that the relationship between these three main parties in the country will not undergo major changes after the current elections, but each of them may suffer small losses in its representation in the highest legislative body. In such a situation, it is possible that the ultra-right National Popular Front, which experts predict the fourth place in the elections, will be able to acquire additional votes and increase the size of its faction in the House of Representatives.
Cyprus is a presidential republic with the President being not only the head of state, but also the chairman of the government he appoints. The country does not have the office of prime minister, and the party that wins elections to a unicameral parliament does not form the government. However, the role of the legislative body is extremely important to ensure the effective work of the executive power.