Around 83,000 Turkish Cypriots are automatically registered in the electoral roll for the European elections of June 9, 2024, the Head of the Elections Service of the Ministry of the Interior, Menelaos Vassiliou, told CNA, adding that the list will be made available to the public after April 2, 2024, when the relevant legislation expires.

Asked by CNA, he said that Turkish Cypriots are automatically registered provided they meet certain conditions, such as being Cypriots, over 18 years old and living in the island’s occupied territories.

He also said that 11,500 European voters were registered to vote.

The expenditure for the 2024 European elections to the tune of €7 million is included in the budget that is before the Parliament.

Vassiliou also said that the intention of the Ministry of the Interior is to operate polling centers abroad as was the case in other elections, specifically in Greece, the United Kingdom and Belgium, however, he noted, this will depend on the interest that will be expressed in the last quarter before the elections.

Cyprus has been divided since the 1974 illegal Turkish invasion. Numerous peace talks under the UN aegis with the aim to reunite the island under a federal roof failed to yield results. The latest round of talks took place in the summer of 2017 in the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana.