DISY ahead of ruling AKEL in election polls

OPPOSITION DISY is two percentage points ahead of ruling party AKEL in the public’s preferences for the forthcoming parliamentary elections, according Cyprus’ barometer for March.

According to the poll, which was presented by ANT1 television last night, 25.1 per cent of Cypriots said they intended to vote for DISY in May’s elections, compared to 23.2 per cent who said they would opt for AKEL.

Coalition party DIKO came third with 11.2 per cent of the public’s vote, followed by EDEK with 6.8 per cent and EVROKO with 3.8 per cent. Two per cent of the barometer’s participants said they intended to vote for the Green Party.

Quite an important percentage of Cypriots – 15.5 per cent – said they didn’t know who they would vote for, while 8.2 per cent said they would abstain and 4 per cent said they would submit a blank vote.

Some 54.7 per cent said a party’s position on the Cyprus problem was the determining factor for their choice of vote. The economy came second with 20.8 per cent. Over two per cent of those asked said their vote would be affected by the party’s leader. Seven out of 10 Cypriots said the lack of young politicians in Cyprus was a negative thing.

The barometer asked what qualities the public sought in candidate MPs in order to vote for them. The majority (23.7 per cent) said “credibility”, while 17.9 per cent said they would look for whether a deputy was caring towards the public.

17.2 per cent said it would depend on an MP’s education, 16.7 per cent said “sincerity” and 14.3 per cent would like an MP to be experienced in the Cyprus problem. Political experience was the key for securing the vote of 13.6 per cent of the public, while 12.3 per cent opted for a deputy’s personality. Being a good politician was the choice for 10.7 per cent of Cypriots and 9.7 per cent would like their MP to be dynamic.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.