NICOSIA, April 19 (Xinhua) -- Many Cypriots are indifferent to the upcoming European parliament due in next month, according to a survey published by Cyprus' state television overnight on Thursday.
Results of the poll shown at the end of an overnight debate on the upcoming vote on May 26 showed that six out of 10 of those surveyed said they would vote.
However, political analyst Yiannis Mavris, who was in charge of the poll based on an experience of 30 years of preparing polls and studying election trends in Cyprus, said on Friday that he would not be surprised if fewer than half of registered voters would cast a ballot paper.
"People when asked whether they will go to the polls feel they have to give a positive answer, because they think this is the proper thing to do. But in practice many of them do not vote in the end," Mavris said.
He added that he expected that the ratio of turnout voters would be close to the European average of 43 percent.
Mavris said that the high abstention rate, not only in Cyprus, but also in all EU countries, is a paradox, given the fact that most decisions affecting the everyday life of EU citizens are actually made in Brussels.
Cyprus, with a population of 1.2 million, sends six members in the 751-seat European Parliament.
