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Cyprus RightsThe Republic of Cyprus claims the whole island, and owes every right that claim implies to every Cypriot. Cyprus Rights documents where that duty goes unmet for Turkish Cypriots — with sources.

Political participation · European Parliament

Polling access from the north

Report card / Political participation / European Parliament

Living in the northPartly delivered70/100

For the 2024 European Parliament election, 32 special polling stations operated near the crossing points — 26 in Nicosia district, 2 in Larnaca district, and 4 in Famagusta district. This list was published by the press and independently matched by SWP. North-resident voters may use any of these special stations; an electronic roll is used to prevent double voting, per the Central Elections Service's own page. No equivalent record was located for earlier European Parliament elections. The 2019 registry failures, which stopped about 1,000 people from voting, show the arrangement has not always worked.1234

Basis and sources

Legal anchor Article 20(2)(b) TFEU; Article 39 of the Charter; Article 3 of Protocol No 1 ECHR

Sources for this criterion

  1. 1. 32 EU-election polling stations for Turkish Cypriots (2024 list)B — institutional / reported · Cyprus Mail · 2024-05-20
  2. 2. Erol Kaymak, European Elections and their Implications for the Cyprus Issue: Populist Challenges and Turkish Cypriot Inclusion, SWP Comment No. 28B — institutional / reported · Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik · July 2024
  3. 3. Central Elections Service page: Turkish-Cypriot electorateA — primary / documentary · Republic of Cyprus, Ministry of Interior, Central Elections Service · 2025-09-18
  4. 4. Numbers of Turkish Cypriot voters expected to double (2019 registry problems)B — institutional / reported · Cyprus Mail · 2024-06-09

Status partially addressedWeight 4/5Score 70

Sources

  1. 32 EU-election polling stations for Turkish Cypriots (2024 list)B — institutional / reportedCyprus Mail · 2024-05-20A Cyprus Mail news report listing the 32 polling stations designated for Turkish Cypriot voters in the 2024 European Parliament election.Cyprus Mail, 20 May 2024 — full list of the 32 special polling stations (Nicosia 26, Larnaca 2, Famagusta 4) for the June 2024 EP election; count corroborated independently by SWP Comment No. 28https://cyprus-mail.com/2024/05/20/32-eu-elections-polling-stations-for-turkish-cypriots/
  2. Erol Kaymak, European Elections and their Implications for the Cyprus Issue: Populist Challenges and Turkish Cypriot Inclusion, SWP Comment No. 28B — institutional / reportedStiftung Wissenschaft und Politik · July 2024A commentary by researcher Erol Kaymak, published by Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik as SWP Comment No. 28, on European elections and Turkish Cypriot inclusion in the Cyprus issue.SWP Comment No. 28, July 2024, Table 1. Author is a Turkish Cypriot political scientist (Eastern Mediterranean University; CATS Fellow at SWP), recorded per the editorial doctrine's independence rule; his 2019 and 2024 turnout figures are sourced by him to Kathimerini Cyprus, 17 June 2024, not to an official returnhttps://www.swp-berlin.org/publications/products/comments/2024C28_EPElectionsCyprus.pdf
  3. Central Elections Service page: Turkish-Cypriot electorateA — primary / documentaryRepublic of Cyprus, Ministry of Interior, Central Elections Service · 2025-09-18An official webpage of the Republic of Cyprus's Central Elections Service describing the Turkish Cypriot electorate.Official page (posted 18 September 2025): automatic entry of north-resident ID holders on a Special Electoral Roll for EP elections; south-resident registered Turkish Cypriots vote in all national elections — the state's own description of the mechanismhttps://www.gov.cy/moi-elections/en/documents/elections-2024/turkish-cypriot-electorate/
  4. Numbers of Turkish Cypriot voters expected to double (2019 registry problems)B — institutional / reportedCyprus Mail · 2024-06-09A Cyprus Mail news report on expectations that the number of registered Turkish Cypriot voters would double, citing 2019 voter-registry problems.Cyprus Mail, 9 June 2024 — reports that in the 2019 EP election roughly 1,000 additional would-be voters could not cast ballots due to registry problemshttps://cyprus-mail.com/2024/06/09/numbers-of-turkish-cypriot-voters-expected-to-double/