The bills proposing automatic voter registration and lowering the voting age to 17 are expected to be submitted to the House of Representatives early next year, Offsite reports. Although initially scheduled for the end of 2024, the bills are still undergoing legal scrutiny by the Legal Service, delaying their submission.

The Ministry of Interior, which initiated the bills, integrated recommendations from the Commissioner for Personal Data Protection, addressing procedural matters. Once the legal review is complete, the bills will be approved by the Council of Ministers in early 2025 before being submitted to Parliament.

The goal is for these laws to pass by May 2025, ensuring their application in the 2026 Parliamentary Elections. This adheres to the longstanding practice of avoiding electoral law amendments within a year of an election.

• Voters will be registered automatically based on their address in the Population Registry.

• District Officers will notify voters in writing about their registration, specifying their registered address.

• Registered voters must report any discrepancies or address changes within 30 days to update the electoral roll.

However, the update process will be suspended one year before general elections, except for new registrations.

• The current six-month residency requirement will be eliminated, as verifying it would conflict with the principle of automatic registration.

• Instead, eligibility will be determined based on an active Republic of Cyprus ID card and a registered address in the free areas.

Automatic voter registration applies exclusively to Cypriot citizens for inclusion in the permanent electoral roll. It does not extend to the special electoral rolls for European citizens voting in European Parliament or local authority elections.