AS THE first round of the presidential elections edge closer, the media on the island have focused mainly on the last-ditch attempts by politicians to sway undecided voters in what is being touted as one of the most tightly contested ballots in Cypriot history.
But as Cypriots brace themselves for a final week of electioneering before the three candidates go head to head next week, the political parties have been busy for some time preparing for the huge number of Cypriot students who are flocking to the island to vote.
As a part of the large Cypriot student community in England, students over here can definitely not claim to feel left out from the presidential race.
Phone calls from the various student political organisations began as early as last summer, with one student claiming that she began receiving calls from party organisations about the elections since September.
“I remember someone calling me claiming they were from the AKEL youth as soon as I came to England in September and asking me if I would be interested in coming back to Cyprus to vote in the elections, which at the time I thought was ridiculously early. Ever since then, most of us students have been constantly bombarded with phone calls,” said Angela Ioannou (not her real name).
According to accounts from some students who wished to remain anonymous, members of these organisations are asked to submit the names and contact details of around 30 to 40 other students who are of “similar political connotations” – most of the time without the knowledge of the people whose names are submitted. This goes some way in explaining how each organisation succeeds in building up such extensive contact lists.
The AKEL and DISY youth are offering to fly students back from the UK for around £80, one third of the price of a full ticket, while the DIKO campaigners are offering to cover the full cost of the airfare.
With this in mind, how many students are in fact going back with voting as their main priority?
According to Emily Christoforou – again not her real name – a first year student at a UK university, not many:
“Personally, I am going back for four days because I really want to vote, but to be honest, most of my friends have no interest in politics at all and are simply using this opportunity to see their boyfriends who are still in the army in Cyprus. This is sad, but if you think about the situation, it is unavoidable in many respects,” she said.
“I am not saying they will not vote – they will most probably do so – but most of them don’t really have a clue and will end up voting for the candidate that their parents are endorsing and are just happy to get a few days of cheap or free holidays,” she told the Sunday Mail.
Ioannou also confessed that voting was not her main reason for going back to Cyprus.
“I will be going back for both weekends of the vote, mainly to see some people close to me that I have not seen for some time. But believe me, I am among the majority who thinks in this way,” she said.
According to Ioannou, the way this campaign has being conducted has not been ideal, with both sides taking advantage of one another.
“It is simple if you think about it. They need us and we need them. To be honest I did not want my name to go down in the records of a party organisation, but it is the price I have to pay if I want to go back. We are using them and they are also using us for their own interests.”
Another student studying in London, who wished to remain anonymous, admitted that he was not even planning to vote, despite going back for more than a week.
“I will be going back without paying a single cent for 10 days as my university has a week break at the time and it would be nice to go back to Cyprus. In the end I will probably abstain from voting as I do not know enough to make an informed choice and I definitely do not feel that any candidate represents me in the slightest,” he said.
The nature of voting procedures in a representative democracy and the secret ballot means that political parties can never be sure how one votes, so they are leaving themselves exposed to something of this sort.
While one cannot blame political parties for trying to use a situation like this to their advantage, especially in an election race that – if opinion polls are anything to go by – will be extremely tight and where every vote is vital, the whole system of flying voters back is estimated to cost around seven to eight million euros in total, as the Cyprus Mail reported earlier this month.
With no way for any of the parties to guarantee that students are not coming for a free ride, many argue it is absurd that for a country like Cyprus, with such a massive population of students abroad (an estimated 20,000 at the moment), the only method of voting is in person in the country itself.
A change in policy allowing all Cypriot citizens to vote wherever they are situated would not only guarantee their right to vote but would alleviate the current problem that political parties face of having to subsidise the influx of about 15,000 voters, at the same time running the risk that some of them may not even be eligible to vote.
