Election info falls short for foreign voters
As thousands of Cypriots find themselves ready to go to the polls tomorrow EU-resident voters in Paphos say they still don’t know where to go or what to do.
Yesterday many expressed their frustration at the lack of information available about candidates standing in the European Parliament elections, and how and where they will cast their votes.
“I can’t believe that there hasn’t been any information as to where to vote, or what to do. I think in most European countries literature concerning something as important as elections and voting is available in at least all the main European languages. It doesn’t seem to be the case here,” said one disgruntled voter.
This appears to be the general opinion of would be voters in Paphos.
“I realise we are living in Cyprus and most people speak Greek but there are an awful lot of foreign residents here now and the government need to wake up and understand that we can now vote,” said Barbara Jenkins.
Tomorrow the polls are open from 6am to midday and from 1pm to 8pm. If you voted in the last municipal election, voting will take place in the same location.
The Green Party have attempted to broaden their campaigns to include other EU nationals, and members of the Paphos branch of the party confirmed that their phone was ‘ringing off the hook’ with confused voters asking for advice.
Problems range from expecting to turn up on the day without pre-registering to waiting for voting information in the post. In addition, those government web pages, which are in English, require the user to first navigate through the Greek pages to find them.
Cypriots are able to text the Greek word for elections ‘ekloyes’ to a central number and will receive information about where they can vote. But according to a staff member at the electoral services this isn’t the case for non-Cypriots. This is because other EU nationals are on a second list bearing a different identity code.
It seem the only way non Cypriots are able to effectively find out where to vote is by calling a little publicised number: – 77772212.
Even here problems have arisen.
“I wasn’t able to get the information I required form this number and I still don’t know how or where to vote on Saturday,” said one British resident.
Tomaz Nowak said, “I’m Polish and I live in Paphos. I want to vote but I read English, I will be lost.”
“I will be voting green on Saturday,” said one Peyia resident. ‘They have been the only party who have tried to help the non-Cypriots, and also give out helpful information as to what we have to do.”
Panikos Constantinou a Paphos resident disagrees.
“This is Cyprus if people can’t speak Greek that’s their problem. They should be able to read and write it if they want to live here.”
Previous statements from the electoral services confirmed that there wouldn’t be any literature available in English, as the official languages of Cyprus are Greek and Turkish.
“We are able to vote, and it’s about time the politicians realised that. More EU nationals need to vote for the next elections, and then the politicians will have to takes notice of us,” advised 70-year-old Paphos resident Matteous Durval.
Voters should be aware that tomorrow, ballot papers will also display candidates’ names in Greek and Turkish only, but the staff at the stations are geared up to help with any questions. The candidates are also listed in alphabetical order.
What to do: Voters should call 77772212 stating if they are Cypriot or a EU national. The code to give for a EU national is ‘99’ you will also be asked for your name, father’s name and ID or passport number. You will be given an area with a particular ballot box number to cast your vote.
www.wtv.elections.gov.cy or call: 77772212
Select which party you are voting for, on the bottom of the ballot, is a box at the bottom of each party list. The political parties are listed across the top of the ballot – look for the symbol or logo of the party. This is where you place your party vote.
There is no cross-party voting. This means you must choose which party you wish to vote for and then you can vote for up to two candidates of that party. Each candidate has a number beside his or her name. If you don’t read Greek, it will be easier if you know the number of the candidate that you want to vote for. To mark the ballot, you use a cross “+”, a tick “?” or an “X”. Do not make any marks outside of the lines of the party list or the ballot will be declared invalid.
Don’t feel rushed. Take your time to ensure you mark your ballot correctly.
