Voting, which commenced early on Sunday morning in Pafos, on the western coast of Cyprus, continues without any incident as citizens are set to elect the city`s new mayor in a by-election, after the resignation of Savvas Vergas, the previous mayor now facing corruption charges.
Polls opened at 7.00am local time (05.00 GMT) and will close at 18.00. There was an hour long break from 12.00 until 13.00. Results are expected to be known around 20.00 on Sunday night.
According to Yiannakis Mallourides, the chief returning officer in Pafos, voting proceeded smoothly and in line with the relevant legal provisions.
By 12.00 noon, when voting stopped for the one-hour break, 3,849 voters or 21,3% of registered voters had cast their vote.
In total, 18,023 citizens have the right to vote, 12% of whom are EU citizens residing permanently in Pafos.
A record eight candidates are running for the office, including independent candidate Aristos Vassiliades, backed by three opposition parties AKEL, DIKO and EDEK, municipal councillor Fedonas Fedonos, who is supported by the ruling DISY party, Citizens’ Alliance-supported Doros Paphitis, Green Party-supported Andreas Masouras and independent candidates Sophie Hambiaouridou, Chrysanthos Chrysanthou, Andreas Chrysanthou and Vangelis Mauronikolas.
In their statements, all candidates called on fellow citizens to participate in the voting and referred to the immediate challenges that lie ahead for the Municipality of Pafos, which is the European Capital of Culture 2017.
The Police are assisting the voting procedure, reinforcing patrols in the city, with 65 members of the Force staffing the operations` center at the Pafos Divisional Police headquarters.