Greek Cypriots head to polls for parliamentary elections
More than 560,000 voters prepared to head to the polls in Greek Cyprus on May 24 to elect 56 lawmakers who will serve in the parliament until 2031.
Authorities also announced that 859 Turkish Cypriots holding Greek Cyprus citizenship and residing in southern part of the ethnically-divided island have been included in the electorate.
The elections have already broken records in terms of candidacies, with a total of 750 candidates expected to appear on the ballot for the first time in the administration’s history.
The Cyprus dispute has persisted for decades between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots despite multiple U.N.-led initiatives. Intercommunal violence in the 1960s forced Turkish Cypriots into enclaves, while a 1974 Greek Cypriot coup aimed at union with Greece prompted Türkiye’s military intervention as a guarantor power to protect the Turkish Cypriot population.
