NICOSIA, May 30 (Xinhua) -- Cypriots went to the polls on Sunday to elect a new parliament for the next five years in a process which is likely to manifest eroding support for major parties.
Polling stations opened at 7:00 a.m. local time (0400 GMT) and will close at 6:00 p.m. local time (1500 GMT), with first results expected about an hour later.
The country's Chief Returning Officer Costas Constantinou, who is in charge of the electoral process, said that nearly 558,000 people are eligible to vote for 56 new members of the unicameral parliament out of a record number of 659 candidates.
A total of 1,150 polling stations are available for the voters, and those infected with COVID-19 can vote from home through nine mobile units, Constantinou added.
However, opinion polls published earlier this week showed that up to 40 percent of registered voters may choose to abstain, compared to a 33.3-percent abstention rate in the 2016 election, indicating a growing distance between ordinary Cypriots and politicians.
According to the polls, governing right-wing party the Democratic Rally and main opposition the left-wing Progressive Party of Working People will hold the lead among eight or nine parties likely to enter parliament.
No party is expected to secure an absolute majority, the polls showed. Many voters surveyed said they will cast protest votes in favor of smaller parties, the polls said.
One of the parties likely to benefit is the extreme right-wing National Popular Front, which may double its electoral support, the polls showed.
The Green Party, which has campaigned mainly on environmental issues and is fielding young candidates, may also make inroads among voters, the polls added.
Still, political analyst Yiannis Mavris, with more than 30 years of experience in analyzing elections, told the country's CyBC state television that the entrance of at least five new parties which joined the contest for the first time may confound opinion poll predictions.
It is at least certain that the new parliament will be more fragmented than the outgoing one, making it more difficult for the government of President Nicos Anastasiades to push through crucial legislation to help the country's economy recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, Mavris said.
But the more fragmented parliament will not affect the stability of the government, he added.
