The Chief Returning Officer has announced a special telephone information service for the public ahead of the May 24, 2026 parliamentary elections.
The islandwide number is 77 77 22 12. The service provides information on polling stations, replacement voter booklets, voting hours and the number of preference crosses allowed by electoral district.
Separate district telephone lines are also operating: 22 804 340 for Nicosia, 25 806 440 for Limassol, 23 828 578 for Famagusta, 24 205 999 for Larnaca and 26 801 142 for Paphos. The Interior Ministry can be reached on 22 867 640.
The information service operates from Monday to Friday between 8am and 6pm, and on Saturday between 8am and 1pm.
Citizens may call to find out the polling station where they vote by providing their identity card number. They may also request information on replacing a voter booklet due to damage or loss, voting hours and the permitted number of preference crosses by electoral district.
Calls to the islandwide number cost €0.081 per minute from a landline and €0.1050 per minute from a mobile phone.
Under the regulations on the election of members of the House of Representatives, voters may mark their ballot only with an “X”, “+” or “√”.
If a voter marks any other sign or letter that could identify them, the ballot will be invalid.
A voter must mark one of the prescribed signs inside the large square under the column of the party or alliance, or in the square next to the name of an individual independent candidate of their choice.
Voters may not vote for candidates from different combinations or for a combination and individual candidates at the same time. In such cases, the ballot will be invalid.
If a voter chooses a combination, they may also mark preference crosses for candidates of that same combination. The maximum number of preference crosses is five in Nicosia, three in Limassol, three in Famagusta, two in Larnaca, two in Paphos and one in Kyrenia.
The maximum number of preference crosses is set according to the number of parliamentary seats allocated to each electoral district, based on the number of registered voters, and not on the number of candidates in each combination.
If a voter marks more preference crosses than allowed, all preference crosses will be ignored and will not be counted. The ballot will remain valid and count as a vote for the combination where the crosses were marked, provided that no other combination or individual candidate was also chosen.
Under electoral law, the leader of a party combination or the head of a coalition combination does not need a preference cross, as they are deemed to receive as many preference crosses as the votes cast for the combination they lead. For that reason, no square is printed next to their name.
Some leaders or heads of combinations do not use this provision. In those cases, a square is printed next to their name and they need a preference cross to be elected, like the other candidates in the combination.
The candidates who do not need a preference cross are Annita Demetriou, president of the Democratic Rally, candidate in Larnaca; Stefanos Stefanou, general secretary of AKEL, candidate in Nicosia; Nikolas Papadopoulos, president of DIKO, candidate in Nicosia; Christos Christou, president of ELAM, candidate in Nicosia; Odysseas Michaelides, head of ALMA – Citizens for Cyprus, candidate in Nicosia; Kyriacos Andreou, president of the Green Party of Cyprus, candidate in Nicosia; Christos Clerides, president of Democratic Change, candidate in Nicosia; and Celestina De Petro, president of Akro – Left Resistance Communism, candidate in Nicosia.
All other candidates, including party leaders across the electoral districts, must receive a preference cross.
Those include Stavros Papadouris, president of the Movement of Ecologists – Citizens’ Cooperation, candidate in Limassol; Nikolaos Prodromou, president of Active Citizens – Movement of United Cypriot Hunters, candidate in Famagusta; Andromachi Sofocleous, co-president of Volt Cyprus, candidate in Nicosia; Panos Loizou Parras, co-president of Volt Cyprus, candidate in Limassol; Fidias Panayiotou, president of Direct Democracy Cyprus, candidate in Nicosia; Sotiris Christou, president of Sikou Pano, candidate in Larnaca; Andreas Themistocleous, president of the Democratic National Movement, candidate in Limassol; Andreas Christofi, president of Agronomos Agricultural Labour Party, candidate in Limassol; Marianna Athanasiou, president of the Patriotic Front “Lakedaimonioi”, candidate in Limassol; and Apostolos Apostolou, head of Popular Struggle for Freedom, candidate in Famagusta.
More information, as well as a video on the correct way to vote, has been posted on the elections website at elections.gov.cy.