The Director General of the Ministry of Interior and Chief Returning Officer, Elikkos Ilia, will meet today at 10:00 am with representatives of political parties to brief them on the preparatory work currently under way ahead of the 2026 parliamentary elections. The meeting will take place at the Press and Information Office.
During the briefing, party representatives will be informed about the key milestone dates leading up to the elections, as well as the actions required on their part. These include, among others, the registration of new voters, the preparation of ballot papers and other organisational procedures.
The roadmap
Based on information gathered by Politis, the key dates ahead of the 2026 parliamentary elections are as follows:
On 23 April 2026, the House of Representatives is expected to decide on its early dissolution, in accordance with Article 67 of the Constitution. The decision requires an absolute majority of Members of Parliament. At the same time, the House will set the date of the elections, which must be no fewer than 30 days and no more than 40 days from the date of the decision.
Based on these provisions, election day is expected to be set for Sunday, 24 May 2026.
The final day for registration on the electoral roll is 2 April 2026. On the same day, the deadline also expires for submitting an application to exercise voting rights at an overseas polling station.
Young people who turn 18 by election day are also entitled to register on the electoral roll, provided their application is submitted within the final three months before the elections, namely from 3 January 2026 to 2 April 2026. For those aged up to 25, applications may also be submitted electronically.
On the day following the dissolution of the House, that is on 24 April 2026, the decree of the Minister of Interior for the conduct of the elections will be published in the Official Gazette of the Republic. On the same day, the appointment of the Chief Returning Officer and the Assistant Chief Returning Officer will take place, as well as the appointment of returning officers and assistant returning officers for each electoral district.
The submission of candidacies will take place on Wednesday, 6 May 2026.
Each nomination document
The exercise of the right to stand for election requires the nomination document to bear the signatures of four voters from the respective electoral district, two as proposers and two as seconders. Upon submission of the candidacy, a fee of €500 must be paid. This amount is refunded if the candidacy is withdrawn, if no vote takes place, or if the party list or individual candidate secures at least one third of the electoral quota.
The candidate must also sign a declaration confirming that they meet the eligibility requirements and appoint an election agent for the election. Party lists may, if they so wish, declare an emblem. Under existing legislation, the emblem may not refer to, be identical to or resemble a symbol of any religious denomination, the flag or other emblem of the Republic or of any foreign country, or the portrait of any deceased senior official of the Republic of Cyprus or any person associated with the EOKA struggle.
Nomination documents will be available at the offices of the respective returning officers from 30 April 2026.
The announcement of the official election results will take place on the evening of election day, following the completion of vote counting. The ceremony for the proclamation of the elected Members of Parliament will take place the following day, 25 May 2026.
The right to vote is held by all citizens of the Republic aged 18 and over who have had their usual residence in Cyprus for the past six months and are registered on the electoral roll. Voting will be carried out using an electoral booklet or a Republic of Cyprus identity card.
The voters
According to the Ministry of Interior, the electoral body for the upcoming parliamentary elections currently amounts to 561,253 voters. This figure shows a decrease mainly due to deaths, compared with the 2024 European elections, when those registered on the permanent electoral roll numbered 568,608. For comparison, the electoral body stood at 561,033 in the 2023 presidential elections and at 558,101 in the 2021 parliamentary elections.
The current distribution of voters by district is as follows:
- Nicosia – 195,728
- Limassol – 115,885
- Famagusta – 114,735
- Larnaca – 59,655
- Paphos – 46,543
- Kyrenia – 28,707
Preference votes
Based on the numerical data of the electoral register, following the incorporation of the supplementary electoral roll of 2 October 2025, the Ministry of Interior submitted a bill to reallocate the number of parliamentary seats per electoral district, transferring one seat from the Nicosia district to the Paphos district. The bill was passed into law by the House on the 5th of the month.
Accordingly, the allocation of parliamentary seats per district is as follows:
- Nicosia district: 19 seats, 5 preference votes
- Limassol district: 12 seats, 3 preference votes
- Famagusta district: 11 seats, 3 preference votes
- Larnaca district: 6 seats, 2 preference votes
- Paphos district: 5 seats, 2 preference votes
- Kyrenia district: 3 seats, 1 preference vote
The number of registered political parties currently stands at 25. In the event that more electoral lists appear in the upcoming parliamentary elections, the Ministry of Interior considers printing ballot papers on both sides as a solution.
The ballot paper
According to the Government Printing Office, the maximum dimensions of the security paper used for ballot printing are 47 cm in height and 69 cm in width. The tallest ballot paper to date was that of Strovolos municipal councillors, with 29 candidates per list.
In the Nicosia electoral district ballot for the 2021 parliamentary elections, 15 party lists with 20 candidates each participated, along with a column for independent candidates, resulting in the full use of the paper’s width.
In the 2021 parliamentary elections, a total of 651 candidates participated, of whom 160 were women (24.31%), with 15 party lists and seven independent candidates. In the 2016 parliamentary elections, 493 candidates participated, of whom 108 were women (21.90%), with 13 party lists and five independent candidates.
The number of registered political parties currently stands at 25. Should more electoral lists appear in the upcoming parliamentary elections, the Election Service considers printing ballot papers on both sides as the preferred solution.
Overseas polling stations
For a polling station to operate abroad, at least 600 voters must be registered. The only cities that appear able to gather a sufficient number of voters are Athens, Thessaloniki, Patras, London and Manchester.
In the 2021 parliamentary elections, a total of 10 overseas polling stations operated: four in Athens, two in Thessaloniki and four in London. A polling station operated in Patras during the 2016 parliamentary elections, while no polling station operated in Manchester in either 2016 or 2021.
What changes in the presidential elections
Various significant amendments introduced by the House to the electoral law, such as automatic registration on the permanent electoral roll under specific conditions, lowering the voting age to 17, and adopting the driving licence as a means of voter identification, will come into effect from 1 July 2027, following amendments to government bills by the House.
As a result, these changes will be applied for the first time in the 2028 presidential elections.
This article was originally published in the Politis daily newspaper.