Parties had to harry voters to the polls

2011-12-20

The rising scourge of absenteeism reared its apathetic head in last Sunday’s municipal elections, recording over 30 per cent abstentions across Cyprus. 

The highest expression of indifference towards local authorities was shown in the island’s two biggest cities, Nicosia and Limassol, which recorded a 66 per cent and 65 per cent voter turnout respectively.  

Larnaca fared a little better, with a 71 per cent turnout while the free areas of Famagusta saw 80 per cent of voters reach the polling stations. Paphos came out the torchbearer for local democracy with 83 per cent of registered voters turning up on the day. 

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.