H.E. Dr. Michalis Stavrinos:

I thank the committee for inviting me to brief it on the response of Cyprus to the European Commission's recommendation regarding the voting rights of citizens living abroad.

In accordance with the specific reference of the guidance regarding Cyprus: "Cypriot citizens lose their right to vote in national elections if they have not resided in Cyprus during the six months immediately preceding such elections, unless they are residing abroad because they study or temporarily work there, or for health reasons." Although issues concerning the composition of the electorate belong exclusively to national competence, as also highlighted by the head of the European Commission Representation in Ireland, Ms Barbara Nolan, on 11 March to this committee, out of courtesy and in a spirit of solidarity with common thinking on aspects of broader joint concern, Cyprus fully and transparently responds to the guidance at hand.

In accordance with the legislation of the Republic of Cyprus, the right to register as a voter is regulated by a number of instruments. Article 63 of the constitution stipulates "every citizen of the Republic who has ... such residential qualifications as may be prescribed by the Electoral Law shall have the right to be registered as an elector ... No person shall be qualified to be registered as an elector who is disqualified for such registration by virtue of the Electoral Law". Under Article 92 of the population registry law, the right to vote is attributed to every citizen of the Republic who has his or her habitual residence in Cyprus for a period of six months immediately preceding the obtaining of voting rights. This provision concerns exclusively the right to register oneself initially on the voting registry. It should be noted that registration on the voter list is permanent.

According to the above mentioned stipulations of Cypriot legislation, the reference to Cyprus in the Commission's guidance cannot be characterised as accurate. The requirement for a six-month residence in Cyprus concerns exclusively registration purposes, as a condition, solely for the initial enrolment. Following registration, any citizen of the Republic enjoys the right of participation to every electoral process conducted by the Republic, without any restriction, limitation or diminution of his or her voting rights. A citizen is only erased from the voting registry due to death or conviction by a court for specific voting offences.

Since I have been afforded the opportunity to brief the committee on the issue of an all–inclusive participation of Cypriot voters in elections within the EU, allow me to inform members that recent legislation was adopted in order to facilitate further the participation of the Turkish Cypriots in European elections. Through this legislation, Turkish Cypriots gain automatic registration on the electoral roll while enjoying further simplified identification formalities.

In conclusion, any citizen of the Republic of Cyprus who is already listed in the electoral registry does not lose his or her electoral rights if he or she moves to another EU member state or anywhere else abroad. The Government of the Republic of Cyprus is taking every practical step to facilitate overseas Cypriots to exercise their voting rights. Of course and as on any other occasion, everything depends on the expression of interest of those concerned. For the coming May elections, 16 voting centres will operate abroad to facilitate interested expatriate Cypriots. The response of the Government of the Republic of Cyprus lies along the above lines and has already been channelled through our Permanent Mission to Brussels.