NICOSIA, May 19 (Xinhua) -- With just 7 days to go until elections for the Cypriot deputies to the European Parliament, voters seem to shun the polling booths, according to the latest and last opinion polls released at the weekend ahead of the May 26 vote.
All opinion polls showed that a big abstention should be expected, which electoral pundits said may be as high as 60 percent.
All surveys also agreed that the two big parties will lead the vote, with ruling DISY right wing party garnering close to 32 percent of the vote and securing two deputies, while main opposition left wing AKEL party obtaining close to 28 percent and also two seats in the European Parliament.
The fifth seat is expected to be won by center DIKO party, with a share of 15 percent of the votes.
Polls showed that there will be a close fight for the sixth seat allocated to Cyprus between socialist EDEK party and extreme right wing ELAM party.
Both parties were shown to garner 5 percent of the vote each, but EDEK, the party which traditionally held the sixth seat, sprang back during the last two weeks.
However, all poll pundits warned that Turkish Cypriot voters who were included in the electoral registry may factor in the final result. They make up 12.5 percent of the electoral body, and even if three or four thousands of them opt to vote, they may make a difference, as they are believed to support AKEL, which has included a Turkish Cypriot candidate in its list.
Electoral experts said there are different reasons for the voters' apathy towards Euro-elections. The main reason is that people feel that a small country with just six deputies cannot make an change when it comes to decision making in Brussels.
Political analyst Christophoros Christophorou suggested that the apparent voter indifference over the European elections can be attributed to the fact that the six deputies could not radically change the country.
But he pointed out that the elections are probably the most important in the long run, since all crucial issues of everyday life of EU citizens are being decided in the European Parliament.
Another reason which frightened people away from the electoral process is that the parties themselves did not deal with the real issues facing Europeans that are being discussed in Brussels.
Christoforou said the parties included in their electoral program only two issues really relating to Europe - immigration and terrorism - out of 10 to 15 issues they dealt with in their electoral manifestoes.
Cypriot parties chose to discuss petty local issues, such as to whether soccer fans should have a card to identify them to enter into stadiums, or whether the authorities handled well or badly a grisly case of a self-confessed serial killer.
The two big parties, DISY and AKEL, have been bickering for many weeks over which one was to blame most for the economic crisis that has affected the country in 2013 and onwards, and over the alleged responsibilities of the government for the latest move of Turkey into the island's exclusive economic zone.
