FOUR OUT of ten Cypriots did not bother to visit a polling station last Saturday, preferring instead to pass their day at the beach or poolside.
Turnout across the island stood at 59.64 per cent, setting a new record low for Cyprus in the euro elections. Five years ago, turnout had been 72.5 per cent. This time round, islanders sought to mimic their fellow Europeans, although the average turnout across the EU was far worse, at 43.01 per cent.
The results largely confirmed forecasts and early exit polls, as the Democratic Rally garnered the most votes (35.65 per cent), earning them two seats in the European Parliament. Ruling AKEL came in a close second at 34.90 per cent, also keeping its two MEP seats. The remaining two seats were snatched up by DIKO (12.28 per cent) and socialists EDEK (9.85 per cent).
The MEPs-elect are: Kyriacos Triantafyllides, Takis Hadjigeorgiou (AKEL), Ioannis Kasoulides, Eleni Theocharous (DISY), Antigoni Papadopoulou (DIKO) and Koullis Mavronikolas (EDEK).
The final results were announced by Chief Returning Officer at precisely 11pm on Sunday.
Cypriots living overseas put the rest to shame; out of the some 9,600 registered at 25 polling stations abroad, 67 per cent showed up to vote. Given the success of the ‘experiment’, Savvides said overseas ballots would become the norm.
Asked to comment on the high degree of abstention, government spokesman Stefanos Stefanou said the “phenomenon should be viewed in the framework of the European-wide abstention and the critical analysis should focus on the EU relations with the European citizens.”
Stefanou acknowledged that the fact that the elections were held on Saturday prior to a long weekend – given that Monday was a religious holiday – should be considered as one of the reasons for the low turnout, adding however that this cannot be considered as the sole reason.
He said the President had contacted all six Cypriot MEPs to congratulate them on their success.
Pambos Papageorgiou, a research executive for the European University of Cyprus, said the “beach factor” was most likely not the only culprit for what was a shockingly low turnout by Cypriot standards. Participation in national and legislative elections usually hovers around the 90 per cent mark.
“You could vote on Saturday morning and then still head out for the seaside,” Papageorgiou told the Mail.
In fact, the assumption that people from Nicosia—keen to get away from the concrete and head for the coast—would be the worst offenders was proved false. They were outdone by Limassolians, 43 per cent of whom stayed away from the polls.
“There are a string of reasons, rehashed over and over, as to why euro elections leave us cold: Brussels is a faraway place, what possible difference can six Cypriot MEPs make, et cetera.”
There are many other things that left Cypriots dead-cold. “Yes we are political animals, but we tend to vote along party affiliations, something which is highlighted less during euro elections. If anything, it’s this ‘party patriotism’ that motivated most voters to cast their ballot, otherwise the turnout might have been even lower,” he said.
The fact that there were far fewer candidates than in parliamentary elections, meant these elections offered less choice and were less personal.
“People tend to get more involved with parliamentary elections, because they get to vote for a friend, an acquaintance, a relative. Then you had all the different agendas from the parties, the stale confrontations, which drove folks away,” offered Papageorgiou.
