The reduction of Nicosia’s parliamentary seats from twenty to nineteen and the increase of Paphos’s seats from four to five has been finalized, following the closure of the electoral rolls on October 2 for the Parliamentary Elections scheduled for May 24, 2026.

Official announcements for the distribution of seats by district will be made after the objection period for the supplementary rolls ends and once Parliament completes the formal process of amending the relevant legislation.

Although the possibility of last-minute changes to district seat allocations remained open until the very end, OffsiteNews sources indicate that the outcome between Nicosia and Paphos was clarified early, largely due to the limited number of new registrations in the electoral roll.

At the same time, the gap between Nicosia and Limassol appeared to narrow, raising the possibility that Nicosia might regain the seat lost to Paphos from Limassol instead. However, with the finalization of the rolls, Nicosia failed to close the gap, officially becoming the district to lose one seat in the 2026 Parliamentary Elections.

In the last three months, 495 new voters were added to the electoral rolls, while deceased individuals were removed as part of the standard updating process.

The supplementary electoral rolls of October 2, 2025, are being posted today for public inspection and potential objections by any interested citizen. The lists will be available for ten (10) days for examination at the offices of local District Officers, Mayors, and Community Leaders, among other locations.

After this ten-day period, no objections will be accepted. Once finalized, the supplementary electoral rolls will be incorporated into the permanent register to be used in the upcoming parliamentary elections.

The addition of a fifth seat in Paphos also changes the system of preference votes in the district. Until now, voters in Paphos could select only one candidate, but they will now be allowed to vote for up to two candidates per party list.

This change may alter campaign strategies, as candidates will need to adapt from focusing solely on personal votes to competing in a broader field where two preference votes per voter could bring surprises in the final results.

According to the law, each voter is entitled to one preference vote for every four seats in their district. When a remainder exists after dividing the total number of parliamentary seats by four, the number of preference votes increases by one. Therefore, in Paphos—now with five seats—each voter will be entitled to cast two preference votes.