The following from the British High Commission sets out the position regarding voting in local elections in Cyprus for expats post 1 January 2021. Many will remember that immediately after the Brexit vote, civil servants in Cyprus started to remove UK expats from the electoral lists. This practice was stopped, but UK expats were prevented from voting in a local election in Limassol earlier this year:
The UK pushed hard in the
Withdrawal Agreement negotiations to include the right to stand and vote in
local elections for UK nationals living in the EU, and EU citizens in the UK.
But, despite UK efforts, the EU Commission said that voting and candidacy
rights were out of scope and could not be included in the Withdrawal Agreement.
Therefore, following the UK’s exit from the EU on 31 January 2020, UK nationals
in Cyprus are no longer eligible to vote or stand in local and European Parliament
elections.
It is understood that the UK Government will be removing the 15-year rule which prevented UK expats from voting in UK local government elections so that those UK expats who have been living outside the UK for a period in excess of 15 years will be eligible to vote in the UK elections. Further information will be circulated when available.
