A BRITISH resident of Cyprus has challenged the government over their voting registration policy for EU nationals.
Patrick Conroy told the Cyprus Mail, “after lodging a complaint with Brussels, I was sent a letter which seems to agree with my complaint. It suggests that, ‘the requirement to produce a Cypriot ID card in order to be able to register to vote in EU elections, seems to be contrary to the directive 2004/38/EC, which came into effect on April30 2006.’”
Conroy has lived in Cyprus for the past nine years and has Cypriot residency.
“I wanted to ensure that I was on the electoral roll and checked about three or four years ago. My name wasn’t there and was told I had to apply. They asked for my Cypriot ID, and when I told them I didn’t possess one, I was asked for my birth certificate, even though I have a residence permit.”
EU parliamentary elections will take place in June 2009. All European citizens resident in Cyprus will be eligible to vote for Cyprus MEPs, as long as they are registered on the electoral roll. This doesn’t affect the right to vote in national elections in their country of origin.
Conroy, currently retired and living in Oroklini in the district of Larnaca, complained about this process to the district office in Larnaca, and made an appointment to see the district officer. As yet, he has been able to secure an appointment.
“A lady in the office has been very helpful, although she told me that rules are rules, and explained that ID numbers need to be fed into the computer, otherwise the programme doesn’t work. Perhaps they should change the system,” he suggested.
Electoral lists in Cyprus are updated four times a year, on January 2, April 2, July 2 and October 2. The last date for registering to vote in June, is prior to the quarterly electoral list update on April 2.
Conroy continued, “I then spoke to, Demitris Demetriou, at the ministry of the interior. He’s responsible for voting, and I explained the situation to him. I voiced my concerns that this procedure of having to have a Cypriot ID card wasn’t right, and might contravene EU regulations. He assured me at that time, that it was indeed correct.”
At this point, Conroy decided to write to Brussels, and in August 2008 received a reply from the European Commission Directorate-General of Justice, Freedom and Security. It stated that an extensive study covering the legislation of member states regarding European citizenship would be finalised in 2008.It added that, “for those legislations which will be found as non compatible with Community law, the Commission will launch, if necessary, infringement procedures against the respective member state.”
Linda Leblanc, a Peyia councillor representing the Peyia coalition of Independents, and a Green party member has long been pushing for better available information as to the voting rights of EU residents in Cyprus.
“I recently asked George Perdikis, a deputy, and General Secretary of the Cyprus Green Party, to help me to clarify existing confusion surrounding non Cypriot EU nationals registering to vote in the forthcoming EU parliamentary election,” she told the Cyprus Mail.
Perdikis met with the Chief Electoral Officer in the Ministry of Interior to discuss voter registration.
“Mr Perdikis was informed that there is a separate EU parliamentary electoral roll for EU citizens from other Member States,” confirmed Leblanc. “This means that EU citizens, who wish to vote in Cyprus in the June election, must submit an application (ME1) to the District Office, even if they voted in the last municipal election in December 2006.”
But, those who voted in Cyprus in the 2004 EU Parliament elections need not fill in an application, as they are already registered on the list for EU electors for the EU Parliament.
“It’s very confusing,” said Leblanc. “There are two lists for European residents in Cyprus. One is for local elections and the other for the EU parliamentary election.”
In other words, people who are already on the municipal elections list will need to apply again if they wish to vote in the upcoming European election.
“At the moment the current requirement is for voters to have a Cyprus ID card before they can register, but this has been challenged by an EU resident in Oroklini, Mr. Patrick Conroy,” she said.
According to Conroy, the Interior Ministry is proposing to amend the current law, and this will then have to be passed by Parliament.
“I wasn’t given a timeframe by Demetriou, who I have now spoken to on a number of occasions, but he told me he had hoped the process to have been concluded by the end of 2008.”
But it’s still unclear if residents will be allowed to register to vote without their Cyprus ID card, and as there are less than three months left to register, time is running out.
“Until a few days ago, I know the district office in Larnaca is still insisting on presenting Cypriot ID cards,” said Conroy.
Leblanc continued, “unfortunately, the government doesn’t have a good track record in respecting the democratic rights of all EU residents, as seen by their reluctance to inform eligible voters of their rights, in a timely and efficient manner as required by EU Directives, in the Municipal election in 2006. It seems, once more, that it’s up to the citizens to navigate their way through the confusion.”
Leblanc was the first foreign-born woman to be elected to a town council and firmly believes that apathy towards Brussels is unfounded.
“The EU provides support for improving the environment in Cyprus through mandatory legislation on important issues, and it’s due to Brussels that EU residents in other member states have the right to vote in municipal elections,” she added.
n Voting registration forms are available from the district offices in each town.
