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- Ελληνικά
The Director General of the Ministry of Interior, Dr. Elikkos Ilias, gave a briefing to the political parties today on the preparation of the competent services for the conduct of the June 9 election for the election of members of the European Parliament, Local Authorities and School Boards. The representatives of the political parties had the opportunity to be informed about the progress of the pending issues in view of the completion of the registration procedure on the electoral rolls on 2 April and the submission of nominations, which will take place between 24 and 29 April.
Speaking to media representatives after the meeting, the Director General of the Ministry of Interior referred to the importance of the 2024 Elections for our country and democracy. As Dr. Elias noted, April 2 is the deadline for registration on the electoral rolls, calling again "all young people, who have not voted before, to apply to be registered on the electoral roll. They can also do so online or come to the Provincial Administrations, KEPOs and KEPOs."
To facilitate citizens who wish to register, Dr. Elias announced that Provincial Administrations nationwide will remain open next Saturday, March 30, 2024, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. "Registration is necessary for those who are not already registered, that is, for those who have not voted in the elections before," he said, adding that those of our compatriots residing in the United Kingdom, Greece and Belgium who wish to vote in the election for the election of members of the European Parliament can submit a declaration of registration to the special electoral roll abroad easily, via the internet, until midnight on April 2, in order to be able to exercise their right to vote in their place of residence.
The Director General of the Ministry of Interior reiterated that "9 June will be a day of democracy. It will be very important because more than 3,500 of our compatriots will be elected to serve in some position either in Local Government or as Members of the European Parliament or Chairmen of the Provincial Self-Government Organizations." As can be understood, the Director General pointed out, the number of candidates for the 3,500 seats will be many times higher. "This is an election unprecedented in Cyprus. We invite everyone to participate and exercise their right in order to select those who will serve our country from various positions," said Dr. Elias.
Asked to say what actions the Ministry of Interior is taking to ensure that voters know what and where they will vote, as well as to limit as much as possible the delays and inconvenience at polling stations due to the large number of ballot papers, Dr. Elias said that the number of ballot papers is very high. Ilia referred to the innovative "What I vote" service that will be implemented from 2 May, enabling citizens to know how many ballot papers they will receive and how many crosses they will be asked to mark on 9 June. "We believe that this will help tremendously so that each individual understands what we expect them to do," he added.
Subsequently, Dr. Elias continued, the "Where I Vote" application, which had been used in previous elections, will be launched, informing citizens of the polling stations where they will exercise their right to vote.
Finally, with regard to the operation of polling stations on Election Day, the Director General explained that the number of voters per polling station has been reduced in order to facilitate the service of voters and avoid inconvenience. "We will try to ensure that there are no queues. Every voter will have to stay 5-6 minutes at the polling station in order to exercise their right to vote," he said.
"I insist that the 5 minutes that we will ask of the citizen is not such a long time in relation to what we are called upon to perform, to perform our duty as Cypriot citizens."
"I insist that the 5 minutes that we will ask of the citizen is not such a long time in relation to what we are called upon to perform, to perform our duty as Cypriot citizens. To select the best people to serve the country from various positions both in the European Parliament and in the Local Government", Dr. Ilias stressed.
The meeting with the representatives of the political parties was preceded by a briefing meeting with the relevant Departments, during which the degree of readiness of the services involved was ascertained.
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(MKE)
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