The right to vote in the elections for Local Government Authorities for those displaced by matrilineage, both based on their place of residence and based on their place of displacement, in a manner similar to that applicable to those displaced by patrilineage, was granted by the Council of Ministers, which today approved the legislative amendment to the Population Register Law.
In his statements after the end of the Council of Ministers' meeting, the Minister of Interior Konstantinos Ioannou emphasized that today's decision "implements the announcement of the President of the Republic to grant the same voting rights to those displaced by matrilineage for the Local Government Elections, correcting the distortion that existed in relation to those displaced by patrilineage and preserving the memory of our occupied Communities and Municipalities."
As Mr. Ioannou clarified, in the event that both parents are displaced, registration will be done by default based on the father's place of displacement. He stated, however, that a voter who wishes to register on the electoral roll based on the mother's place of displacement can only submit an application once to change the electoral roll.
He also stated that the new regulation will be applied in the 2029 Local Government Elections and is part of the Government's broader policy to encourage active participation in electoral processes and in decision-making and decision-making.
Asked to answer whether the new regulation will also be applied to the Parliamentary Elections, the Minister of Interior pointed out that the amendment will not apply to the Parliamentary Elections.
He explained that, in such a case, there would be a direct impact on the number of parliamentary seats in the electoral districts, which would not be representative of the electorate.
According to the data, the Minister continued, the assessment is that, in the first phase, Limassol, Larnaca and Paphos would lose seats to the benefit of Famagusta and Kyrenia, while over a 20-year period, the vast majority of voters would be considered displaced, leading to major changes in the electoral map that would not reflect population data.
Source: KYPE
