Abstention outpolled every party on the ballot in Sunday’s parliamentary elections, though its share fell to its lowest level in over two decades as turnout climbed to 66.91%, according to final results released by the Ministry of Interior.
Some 380,851 of Cyprus’s 569,182 registered voters cast ballots, with 188,331 — or 33.09% — choosing not to vote. The figure marked a decline from the 34.28% abstention rate recorded in the 2021 parliamentary elections, when 191,228 of 557,836 registered voters stayed away.
A long-term shift
The trend comes into sharper focus over a longer timeframe. Abstention stood at 33.26% in 2016 and rose to 34.28% in 2021, but both figures remain far above the rates recorded in earlier decades. In 2011, abstention was 21.30%, with 113,216 voters staying away. By 2006 it had fallen to 11%, and in 2001 just 38,553 of 467,543 registered voters — 8.25% — did not cast a ballot.
| Year | Registered | Voted | Turnout | Abstention | Abstention % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 569,182 | 380,851 | 66.91% | 188,331 | 33.09% |
| 2021 | 557,836 | 366,608 | 65.72% | 191,228 | 34.28% |
| 2016 | 543,186 | 362,542 | 66.74% | 180,644 | 33.26% |
| 2011 | 531,463 | 418,247 | 78.70% | 113,216 | 21.30% |
| 2006 | 501,024 | 445,915 | 89.00% | 55,109 | 11.00% |
| 2001 | 467,543 | 428,990 | 91.75% | 38,553 | 8.25% |
“Lost votes”
Of the ballots cast on Sunday, 372,062 were valid, representing 97.69% of the total. Invalid ballots — referred to in Cyprus as “lost votes” — numbered 6,619, or 1.74%, while blank ballots accounted for a further 2,170, or 0.57%.
Both figures showed a slight improvement on recent elections. In 2021, invalid ballots stood at 6,826 (1.86%) and blank at 2,070 (0.56%). The invalid vote rate has fallen steadily from a high of 3.30% in 2006, when 14,724 ballots were spoiled, and blank votes have similarly declined from 10,104 (2.27%) in the same year.
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