Interior Ministry's review: 41% of objections approved

Out of the 3,560 objections submitted and examined by the District Officers, 1,461 objections were approved or 41%, while 2,099 objections or 59% were rejected, announced on Friday the Interior Ministry's Permanent Secretary, Elikkos Elia, noting at the same time that cases where a criminal offence may be substantiated will be forwarded as soon as possible to the Attorney General for evaluation and action.

In statements at the Ministry of Interior about the completion of the examination of objections submitted to the supplementary electoral rolls, Elia said that from 3 January 2024 to 2 April 2014, a total of 25,914 applications for first registration in the electoral rolls and 20,890 applications for transfer of electoral rights due to change of address of voters were submitted.

“During the period when the electoral rolls were posted, a total of 3,560 objections were received, of which 559 concerned Nicosia district, 1,564 Limassol district, 102 Famagusta district, 123 Larnaca district, 1,212 Pafos district and 3 Kyrenia district,” the Permanent Secretary said. He went on to note that all the objections were examined by the respective District Officers.

He also stressed that some of the cases were particularly serious. As he pointed out, under the provisions of the relevant legislation, "any person who knowingly provides false information in connection with the compilation of the electoral roll or in any investigation conducted by the District Officer or deliberately refuses to provide any information is guilty of a criminal offence."

Therefore, said Elia, the Interior Ministry "has asked the District Officers to record all cases for which a criminal offence may be substantiated. These will be forwarded as soon as possible to the Attorney General of the Republic for evaluation and action."

He clarified that failure to approve an objection means that the voter will vote in the district in which he or she was previously registered. He pointed out that from the beginning of May the "What I vote for" online platform will be activated, where citizens will be able to find out exactly what positions they will be asked to vote for, while around 10 May the "Where I vote" platform will also be activated, through which they will know where to vote.

In relation to the next steps, the Permanent Secretary of the Interior Ministry said that the submission of nominations for the European elections will take place on Wednesday, April 24, 2024, at the "Filoxenia" Conference Centre, in Nicosia, between 8:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

He added that the submission of nominations for the Presidents of the District Local Government Organisations will be held on Thursday, April 25, 2024, between the hours of 8:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. in places designated by the relevant Election Officers. He also said that the filing of nominations for the Municipal Elections and School Board Member Elections would be held on the same day and at the same time.

Elia said that the submission of nominations for the Community Elections will be held on Monday, April 29, 2024, between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. in places designated by the relevant Election Officers.