ALL MEASURES are being taken to ensure the secrecy of voting in the upcoming presidential elections, the Chief Returning Officer insisted yesterday.
Lazaros Savvides highlighted that everything was being done in order to carry out objective elections, with administrative and legislative arrangements set up to guarantee total secrecy.
Voters can rest assured that once they have cast their vote in the specially prepared booths, their identity or their vote cannot be determined by any other person, he said.
The Chief Returning Officer noted that the ballot papers were printed on white security paper and were identical for the whole of Cyprus.
Polling stations will open at 7am and close at 5pm, with a one-hour break at midday. The head of each station will be able to extend voting time until 9pm, in the event that large queues of voters cause extra delays.
Blue or black ink biros will be available in the booths while any other colour ink used will render the ballot void.
Also, special arrangements have been made for blind individuals or handicapped persons. Those who are not in a position to vote alone may request the help of polling station staff or may name a person to vote on their behalf.
Meanwhile, the Central Election Commission is putting the final touches to preparations for this Sunday’s presidential elections. Around 10,000 people have been trained by the government to help carry out the elections. The polls suggest there will be no outright winner in the first round, leading to a run-off election on the following Sunday, February 24. The total cost for both rounds is estimated at around €5.83 million.
A total of 1,159 polling stations will be open to the voting public: 438 in Nicosia District, 340 in Limassol District, 55 in the free areas of Famagusta District, 190 in Larnaca District and 134 in Paphos District.
Two special polling stations will operate for the enclaved Greek Cypriots in the north who are registered voters, and for prisoners. The enclaved will be transported from the Turkish-occupied to the free areas to vote, and then either return to their homes or visit relatives. The counting of votes will take place at each polling station except the two stations for the enclaved and the prisoners.
A total of 515,994 voters will cast their ballots, including 390 Turkish Cypriots.
The elections are contested by nine candidates, three of whom are running neck and neck according to opinion polls. The main three candidates are incumbent President Tassos Papadopoulos, House President and General Secretary of AKEL Demetris Christofias and MEP and former foreign minister Ioannis Kasoulides. Papadopoulos is backed by his own party DIKO, the socialists EDEK, the European Party and the Greens. Christofias is backed by former coalition partner AKEL, making him the first candidate put forward in a presidential election by the communist party. Kasoulides has the backing of right-wing party DISY.
Former Agriculture Minister Costas Themistocleous and Euro MP Marios Matsakis are also running for the top spot in the Republic, along with Andreas Efstratiou, Costas Kyriakou (Outopos), Anastasis Michael and Christodoulos Neofytou.
This is the second largest number of candidates since the Republic of Cyprus was established in 1960. The highest number was recorded in 2003 when 10 people contested the elections.
According to the Election Commission, final results are expected by 8.30pm on Sunday, but this could change if any problems arise during the counting of votes.
Voting is compulsory by law. Results will be published on the following websites, www.proedrikes.gov.cy, www.ekloges.gov.cy and www.elections.gov.cy.
