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Political and economic developments in Cyprus may not leave anyone indifferent. However, the same certainly cannot be said about electoral processes, which are gradually losing their appeal and momentum.
During the 1990s, elections were an important event. Gradually, however, they began to lose public interest, with fewer and fewer people turning out to vote in both Presidential and Parliamentary elections in Cyprus.
Over the past 15 years, the interest of Cypriot citizens in elections—whether Presidential or Parliamentary—has declined significantly, something that certainly no one could have predicted.
The economic measures introduced at the beginning of the 2010s, the stagnation of the Cyprus problem, citizens’ growing sense of injustice as they began losing income, as well as the lack of trust in traditional political parties, led public opinion to increasingly disengage from electoral processes from 2011 onwards.
Looking at the election figures from 2011 through 2026, it is difficult to reach any conclusion other than that each electoral process is becoming increasingly less important to the average Cypriot citizen, who no longer believes that anything can change in their situation.
Let us examine the figures from the Parliamentary elections between 2011 and 2026 before moving on to an analysis of the numbers for the Presidential elections.
In the 2011 Parliamentary elections, approximately 21.30% of voters chose to abstain from the electoral process. In absolute numbers, 113,216 people turned their backs on the elections.
Five years later, in the 2016 Parliamentary elections, abstention jumped to 33.26%, with 180,644 citizens not exercising their right to vote. Within five years, abstention increased by 11.96 percentage points.
In 2021, abstention remained at similarly high levels, recording a slight increase. Specifically, 34.28% of voters did not exercise their right to vote. The proportion of those who abstained increased by 1.02 percentage points compared with 2016. In absolute numbers, 191,228 Cypriot citizens did not vote.
Five years later, in 2026, abstention appears to have stabilised at high levels, although it recorded a slight decline, reaching 33.09%. Specifically, 188,331 citizens still chose not to vote for those who would enter the Cypriot Parliament.
The figures for the Presidential elections from 2013 to 2023 lead to similar conclusions, with a significant proportion of Cypriot society once again appearing unwilling to exercise its right to vote.
Let us look in detail at the figures for the Presidential elections.
In the 2013 Presidential elections, during the first round, 91,957 registered voters did not exercise their right to vote. The abstention rate stood at 16.86%. In the second round—which is the more important one, as it determines the President of the Republic—the abstention rate rose to 18.42%. In absolute numbers, 100,484 citizens of the Republic of Cyprus chose not to vote.
Five years later, following the deposit haircut and the closure of the banks, the situation regarding electoral participation became even worse. Specifically, in the first round of the 2018 Presidential elections, approximately 28.12% of voters abstained from the electoral process. In absolute numbers, 154,927 citizens did not participate in the elections. In the second round of the Presidential elections, 143,401 registered voters did not go to the polls, with the abstention rate reaching 26.03%. The figures for 2018 demonstrate that more than one in four Cypriots chose not to vote.
In the most recent 2023 Presidential elections, abstention reached 27.95% in the first round. In other words, 156,952 registered voters were not interested in voting for the next President of the Republic of Cyprus. In the second round, the abstention rate remained high, reaching 27.55%. In absolute numbers, 154,657 registered voters did not go to the polls.
The figures presented above make it clear that, as the years go by, fewer and fewer citizens in Cyprus are interested in electoral processes.
The devaluation of political institutions is undoubtedly a development that should raise concern, as a large section of the Cypriot population does not appear to feel represented and instead feels neglected and marginalised.