Suffrage Universel
le droit de vote des étrangers
la question des "Turcs anatoliens"
Le droit de vote des étrangers à Chypre
page créée le 02/10/2003
http://www.cyprus-eu.org.cy/eng/09_position_papers/chapter_02.htm
source: The Office of the Coordinator for Harmonisation
(Cyprus)Cyprus' Position Papers
Chapter 2: Freedom of Movement of Persons
12 October 1999
CITIZENS RIGHTS
Voting Rights
Overview of Alignment with the Acquis Communautaire
Voting is compulsory for both Parliamentary elections and the Municipal elections and all Cypriot nationals over the age of 18 years are obliged to register in the Electoral lists provided they have been residing in Cyprus for six months. The penalty for failure to register, upon conviction, is up to 6 months imprisonment and/or a fine of not exceeding 450 Cyprus Pounds. The penalty for failure to exercise the right to vote is, upon conviction, a fine of not exceeding 200 Cyprus Pounds.
All Cypriot nationals may stand as candidates in Parliamentary and Municipal elections provided they have not been convicted of an offence involving dishonesty or moral turpitude or are of unsound mind. For Municipal Elections, the candidate must also be a permanent resident of the municipality.
For the transposition of Council Directive 93/109/EC allowing E.U. citizens residing in Cyprus (including Cypriot nationals) to exercise their right to vote and to stand as candidates in elections to the European Parliament, new legislation will be introduced. In order to enable E.U. citizens residing in Cyprus to exercise their right to vote and stand as candidates in municipal elections, amendments to the existing legislation (The Municipal Corporations Law 1985 and Registration of the Electors and Register Law 1980) will be introduced to bring it in line with Council Directive 94/80/EC.
It should be noted that no amendments to the Constitution would be required in order to grant EU citizens residing in Cyprus their rights under the voting rights directives.
Capacity to Implement the Acquis Communautaire
The authority responsible for implementing the legislation will be the Electoral Service of the Ministry of Interior. By the date of accession (1/1/2003), the necessary organisational/institutional structures will be operational and Cyprus will be in a position to implement the voting rights directives.