OVER two-thirds of first time voters seem to be largely apathetic about the May parliamentary elections and have not registered to vote before the April 2 deadline.
So far about 10,000 have registered out of 34,000 of those newly eligible to vote (those who have turned 18 since the last elections), the election service’s Demetris Demetriou said yesterday. Around 148,000 voters are eligible to vote in the 18-30 age group in general but only 110,000 have registered. This marks a generational gap in voting attitudes. For those older than 30, about 10 per cent do not register, Demetriou said.
In theory voting in Cyprus is mandatory. Failing to register is a criminal offence punishable with a €342 fine (the equivalent of 200 Cypriot pounds) and/or up to six months’ imprisonment. For those who are registered but do not show up to vote, the penalty is a maximum fine of €342.
But in practice there are no real consequences for those who do not vote or have not bothered to register.
“There is a law provision to prosecute those who don’t show up or register but it’s not being applied,” said Demetriou. “The number is simply too large and police cannot undertake the task required for that kind of action.”
“I don’t care about politics. It’s all the same whether we vote or not. Politicians do whatever they want; their actions are purely money-driven,” said Pavlos – he only gave his first name – a 21-year-old student at the University of Nicosia.
He has no intention of registering and says that most of his friends also don’t plan to vote, whether they are registered or not.
Asked to comment on why so many young people did not register, a former DISY deputy, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said: “They have no reason to vote. There is no meritocracy: it’s all about who you know. If you don’t know someone you won’t get a job so people have no confidence in the system anymore.”
The registration deadline for the May 22 parliamentary elections expires this Saturday.
The election service will be working on Saturday as well, Interior Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Lazaros Savvides said.
“We are expecting a larger number of no-shows than previously,” Savvides added.
In the previous parliamentary elections there were more than 10 per cent of absentees, Savvides said. This places the number of absentees to more than 50,000. In the 2001 parliamentary elections about 8 per cent of those registered did not vote.
“The number of those registering should be going up instead of down, Savvides said. “We are disappointed.” he added.
