Front Page Headlines
Balance of power maintained with tactical voting
DISY remains first party, but under the psychological barrier of 30%. EDEK receives almost 10,000 votes more than 2014 and 6,000 more than 2016. Turkish Cypriot voters did not upset the balance, their participation stayed at 5,604 votes.
- EDEK: External help
- ELAM: Its 23,167 votes are scary
- 15 years backwards: Not a single woman (MEP)
- Abstention: Parties of 46%
- DISY: First with losses
- AKEL: Increase with crutches
- Battle of the small: DIPA established
- Excited but few (T/C voters)
- Pluses and minuses in the votes
- Europe: Greens and nationalists boosted
- Britain: Brexit (party) in first place
- Heavy defeat for Syriza: Tsipras heads to early elections
Strong messages to all
Six out of ten voters turned their backs on the Euro-elections. EDEK won the battle against the far right.
- Turkish Cypriot voters: Gave votes to all, and elected Niyazi
- Shadow of the far right heavy: Numbers and balances change in the European Parliament
- (ELAM) Lost the seat but recorded significant increase
- After Euro-election defeat: Alexis Tsipras announced snap elections in a month
AKEL opens a new chapter for Cyprus
The people rewarded consistency and responsibility. Voters blocked the way for the far right. DISY’s black propaganda didn’t work.
- Europe the day after the Euro-elections
- National elections in Greece after second round of local elections
- The problem of marine waste as a powerful peace-building tool
The loud messages of the elections
- The elected MEPs
- Results in Greece-EU
Main News
Election results seen as message to all parties: A Turkish Cypriot elected
Alithia, Haravgi, Phileleftheros, Politis
EU Matters
OVERVIEW
As expected, all newspapers focus on the results of the elections for the European Parliament (EP), with extensive charts and analysis on the political situation on a local level and some initial predictions on European trends.
A total of 288,483 people voted on Sunday, counting for 44.99% of the electorate, recording a 55.01% abstention rate (352,698). According to the PIO, of the 80,862 Turkish Cypriots registered to vote, 6.93% actually cast their vote (5,804).
Ruling DISY came out on top in Sunday’s European elections with 29.02%, with opposition AKEL trailing a little behind at 27.49%.
Centre-right DIKO came in third with 13.08%, socialist EDEK with 10.58%, far-right ELAM with 8.25%, DIPA, the party of former DIKO leader Marios Garoyian at 3.8% and the Greens-Citizens Alliance with 3.29%. The Jasmine Movement of Turkish Cypriot Afrika publisher Sener Levent received 1.7% of the vote.
The full results (including of the votes cast by Turkish Cypriots) can be viewed on http://www.elections.moi.gov.cy/English/EUROPEAN_ELECTIONS_2019/Islandwide and downloaded on http://www.elections.moi.gov.cy/Download/Results/EUROPEAN_ELECTIONS_2019
The six newly-elected Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) representing Cyprus are: Loukas Fourlas and Lefteris Christoforou of ruling right-wing Democratic Rally (DISY) party; Giorgos Georgiou and Niyazi Kızılyürek of left-wing AKEL party; Costas Mavrides of the Democratic Party (DIKO); and Demetris Papadakis of Socialist EDEK party.
The election of the first Turkish Cypriot in the EP is reported as part of the result with only some newspapers deeming the development worthy of additional headlines on the front page.
Specifically, regarding the Turkish Cypriot voters, Politis reports that TC participation might have tripled since 2014, but in the end, it was a small number compared to expectations and the excitement among the community. According to the newspaper, voting proceeded without problems for TCs. Phileleftheros attempts an initial analysis of voting patterns for TCs, pointing out that the majority voted for Niyazi but that the votes were spread out. The newspaper also points out in a neutral manner that it’s the first time a TC enters the European Parliament, a fact that Alithia also points out in a more positively charged manner. Haravgi does not make special mention of TC participation on its front page, but does report on the TC willingness for peace in its reporting.
Phileleftheros reports that 5,604 TCs voted, making up for 2% of all citizens that chose to vote on Sunday. In its analysis of the vote, the newspaper points out that about 75% voted for AKEL, 24% voted for Sener Levent’s Jasmin Movement and 3% voted for one of most of the other parties, including even ELAM. The newspaper also reports on instances where TCs were not able to vote because they had not registered themselves in the electoral roll. Chief Returning Officer Kypros Kyprianou is quoted as saying that the RoC campaigned to inform TCs about the elections and that those who couldn’t vote should have registered their address.
Politis reports that the expectations for TC participation might have been too high, pointing out that regardless of the low number, participation tripled, and voting proceeded without major problems. However, the newspaper reports that 10% to 20% of TCs who intended to vote were prevented due to issues with their registration. Another factor that didn’t push participation upwards, it is reported, was AKEL’s failure to convince more TCs. The newspaper also published a story about TCs crossing to Dherynia to vote.
Haravgi reports in a story on the election that the AKEL list of candidates was a first successful attempt for GCs and TCs to vote together on a joint ticket. The newspaper also points out in a comment that the state did not manage to inform TC voters and assist them effectively, leaving a gap that was filled by citizens’ initiatives such as Unite Cyprus Now. In other comments in the newspaper, President Anastasiades is criticised for visiting a TC special voting center after his recent statements on the “borrowed votes” of Turkish Cypriots.
On overall political trends, Politis writes that the balance of power between the parties was maintained in part due to tactical voting plus the fact that TCs did not participate in large enough numbers to shift the result. Politis also draws attention to the fact that not a single woman was elected, which takes the country back 15 years. Phileleftheros focuses on abstention as well as the increased voting by TCs in comparison to 2014. Both newspapers point out EDEK’s boost by voters of other parties to beat ELAM and the relative damage inflicted on DISY as a result of the government’s track record.
Haravgi focuses on the electoral boost for AKEL and the failure of ELAM to elect an MEP, while Alithia lists 7 lessons from this election: DISY remains first, with a smaller percentage than 2016; AKEL’s small boost upwards as a result of TC voters; the election of Kizilyurek that according to the newspaper sends the message that people still believe in GCs and TCs living together; the defeat of Neoklis Sylikiotis as a defeat of AKEL’s party mechanisms; EDEK’s win despite ELAM’s increased percentage; the defeat of the Greens, Citizens Alliance and Solidarity, and the boost of Marios Garoyian’s DIPA; and finally the large abstention.
TC owners of properties in south plan to claim them after Mackenzie case
Phileleftheros
Property
OVERVIEW
Phileleftheros reports that TC owners of properties in the south are taking steps to claim said properties after the precedent set by the case of a property in Mackenzie beach in Larnaca. The property in question, where a GC had erected an events hall, was left by the owner before the intercommunal conflict.
The newspaper titles the story “Mackenzie whet their appetite”. Referring to the latest in the Mackenzie case, the newspaper reports that the GC who used the event space has asked to receive rights of usage of another TC plot in the area, adding that the relevant government service does not see this in a negative light.