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- Ελληνικά
The Chief Electoral Officer Dr Elricos Ilias held a press conference today at the "Theophilos Georgiades" amphitheatre of the Press and Information Office on the elections of 9 June 2024. After his opening speech, he answered questions from journalists.
Asked if the cost of holding the elections has been estimated, the Chief Electoral Officer said the cost is in the range of 7 million euros. "We have also bought new equipment, which we will use in the next elections. We will give the exact account after the completion of this exercise."
Asked where citizens can complain about receiving messages with content prohibited by the current electoral legislation after midnight on Friday, Dr Elias said: "We urge candidates to let citizens decide quietly and without further interference, to have a quiet weekend to manifest their decision in the ballot box."
He added that citizens can report to the offices of the Chief Electoral Officer and the Chief Electoral Officers for any complaints, which will be investigated. If they are complaints involving personal data, citizens can be referred to the Commissioner for Personal Data Protection, with whom he said there is excellent cooperation.
"But I appreciate that candidates will have to show caution. There are also cases where sending a message on Saturday morning to say vote for me may well annoy the voter in the end and work in the opposite way. At which point I'd say stop. Now if some people have static websites that support their candidacy, we won't bother those websites. They are entitled to have them on Saturday and Sunday. But if they are broadcasting advertisements, those should be stopped," Dr Elias said.
He noted that as far as social media is concerned, there is a team in the Press and Information Office to monitor them.
Asked if adequate information has been provided to citizens on proper ways of voting, the Chief Electoral Officer said: "We have done very good information. Not just us. And the media has helped us, the Press and Information Office, the candidates themselves, the parties are doing this information. We are urging people to vote in an informed way, and we have shown all the right ways to vote." He pointed out that this is the first election where people have the opportunity to see the ballot papers in advance and study them.
Asked when the results for the European elections will start to be updated, Dr. Elricos Ilias said: "I estimate that around 12 midnight on Sunday into Monday we will be able to give nationwide percentages by combination or even the independent candidates, but we will not be able to announce the names of the MEPs."
He added that the official results will be announced on Monday morning, but there will be a continuous flow of information through the election website www.elections.gov.cy "We have no intention of hiding anything. We are one of the countries in the world that give the results very quickly, as officials are working non-stop to give them quickly," he said.
(NZ)
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