Cypriot House of Representatives to dissolve ahead of general elections

The Cypriot House of Representatives will dissolve itself on Thursday ahead of scheduled parliamentary elections on May 22, an official said on Monday.

Chief Election Officer Demetris Demetriou said elections will be officially declared immediately after the dissolution of parliament and the next stage in the procedure will be the submission of candidacies on May 4.

The dissolution of parliament will mark the official start of an electoral campaign lasting 37 days.

The 56 members of parliament will be elected by about 543,000 Greek Cypriot voters.

Turkish Cypriot living in an enclave occupied by Turkish troops in 1974, in reaction to a coup by the military rulers of Greece at the time, elect the members of so-called parliament of the so-called "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus," a breakaway state which is recognized only by Turkey.

The all-Greek government under President Nicos Anastasiades is internationally accepted as the legal government of all Cyprus, which became an EU member state in 2004.

Anastasiades is currently conducting negotiations with Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci aimed at an agreement reunifying the eastern Mediterranean island under a federal umbrella.

Greek Cypriot parties have already embarked on an unofficial electoral campaign which is centered on the aftermath of a three-year economic adjustment program after a 10-billion-euro bailout by the Eurogroup and the International Monetary Fund in March 2013.

All five opposition parties are pitched against the ruling Democratic Rally party (DISY), accusing it and the government of a policy of submission to the will of international lenders resulting in what they claim is an unprecedented poverty.

They are putting their stakes on a high rate of unemployment, now standing at 12.6 per cent.

But analysts say they will have a hard time to convince except their hard core supporters, as voters are actually beginning to enjoy an emerging new prosperity.

International lenders who gave their permission to Cyprus to exit its adjustment program last month called the performance of its economy a success story.

Two new parties are contesting this year's elections but their chances of gaining any seats seem to be very slim, as the electoral limit for entering parliament has been raised from 1.8 per cent to 3.6 per cent.

At least three seats currently held by small parties and an independent are expected to go to the larger parties, ruling party DISY and biggest opposition party AKEL.

Source: XINHUA