The Chief of the Cyprus Electoral Service, Menelaos Vasiliou, has reported that 695 Cypriot citizens aged over 100 years appear on the country’s electoral registers, according to statements made before the Parliamentary Committee on Internal Affairs.
The matter emerged during a previous committee session when a proposal was put forward to remove all citizens over 100 years old from the electoral rolls, based on the assumption that many would likely be deceased.
However, this suggestion prompted objections from some concerned individuals and their relatives, leading the Electoral Service to provide parliament with exact figures of those affected.
Committee Chairman Aristos Damianou noted that since the previous meeting, he had been informed about five specific cases of citizens whose age exceeds 100 years. MP Alexandra Attalidou also referenced a 105-year-old citizen during the discussions.
Finding balanced solutions
The Electoral Service is now examining the issue to identify a methodology that would remove genuinely deceased individuals from the registers without automatically deleting all centenarians, which would inadvertently disenfranchise living voters.
Constitutional amendment discussions
The committee meeting also addressed a proposed constitutional amendment that would extend voting rights to 17-year-olds.
However, the session was marked by the absence of representatives from DIKO, EDEK, and ELAM parties.
Damianou publicly questioned the whereabouts of these MPs, emphasising that their participation was “a matter of respecting parliamentary procedures”.
He further stated that political parties that have not yet declared their position on the constitutional amendment should do so promptly to allow the committee to proceed appropriately with its work.
