On Friday May 3, 17 political parties and independent lists submitted their candidates for the European elections in Nicosia, the capital of Cyprus.
Ruling Democratic Rally (Disy) presented six candidates including the actual MEP of the party Lefteris Christoforou.
Country’s second stronger party the leftist Progressive Party of Working People (Akel) will include in its list a Turkish Cypriot, Niyazi Kızılyürek as well as Neoclis Sylikiotis who is a current MEP.
MEP Dimitris Papadakis will run in the Socialist Edek list while MEP Eleni Theocharous, a member of the ECR Group for the conservative Solidarity Party and MEP Kostas Mavridis will take part in the list of the Democratic Party (Diko).
Among the other small parties is Citizens Alliance, the Animal Party Cyprus as well as the Jasmin Movement. Jasmin Party represents the Turkish Cypriots and among its candidates includes the famous journalist Sener Levent.
According to recent polls Disy comes first with 31% and is expected to elect 3 candidates (2 more than in 2014), Akel is in the second place with a 24,5% and 1 seat while Diko comes third with a 14.7% and 1 seat.
Two parties fight for the 6th seat of Cyprus. The neo-Nazi ELAM, a sister party of the Greek Golden Dawn party, and the Socialist EDEK.
The rise of the neo-Nazi party represents a new element in Cypriot politics. According to the polls ELAM seems to attract voters from the ruling Disy party as well as nationalist elements from the other parties.
Cyprus elects six people to the European Parliament. 550,000 registered voters have the right to vote. The number includes 691 Turkish Cypriots residing in the government-controlled areas of Cyprus and 80,800 Turkish Cypriots who, though residing in the occupied part of the island, have the right to vote in the European elections. Special polling stations will be set up at the border crossings between the north and the south of the island.
In the 2014 elections, Disy and Akel elected two MEPs each, Diko one and the coalition between Edek and the Greens one.
