1896 Cypriot legislative election

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Legislative elections were held in Cyprus between 4 and 6 November 1896.

Electoral system

The Legislative Council consisted of six official members appointed by the High Commissioner and twelve elected members,[1] three of which were Muslims and nine of which were non-Muslims.[2]

The island was divided into three constituencies, each formed of two districts.[1] Each constituency elected one Muslim and three non-Muslims. Muslim voters had one vote, whilst non-Muslims could vote for up to three candidates.[3] Due to the high levels of illiteracy, voting was not secret, with voters required to tell the polling officers their candidates of choice, which they were required to do in front of the candidates or their agents.[3]

Suffrage was limited to men aged over 21 who had been permanent residents during the five years prior to the elections, and who had paid either the verghi tax (which was levied as an annual payment of one four-thousandth of a property's value, 4% of rental income or 3% on profits or salaries) or rent for a dwelling or shop within the last year.[1][3] The number of registered voters for the non-Muslim seats increased from 10,030 in 1891 to 12,093,[4] while the number of Muslim voters increased from 2,303 to 2,670.[5][6]

Campaign

Muslim

The LarnacaFamagusta constituency was contested by Evkaf official Ahmed Nafiz, lawyer Ahmed Mumtaz, Ahmed Naim and editor of the Zaman newspaper Ahmed Dervish.[7][8]

The LimassolPaphos constituency was contested by lawyer Ahmed Rashid Hadji Mehmet, landowner Emin Moustafa and merchant Hafuz Ramadan Eyoub.[7]

The NicosiaKyrenia constituency was contested by incumbent MLC Hadji Hafuz Zyai, Mehmed Faik Bey, Abdullah Nadri and Hadji Halil Effendi Mehmed.[7]

Non-Muslim

For the first time since the 1883 elections, all three non-Muslim seats were contested.[9]

Results

Muslim seats

In the Muslim seats, 1,540 of the 2,670 registered voters voted.[6]

Constituency Elected member Notes
Larnaca–Famagusta Ahmed Dervish
Limassol–Paphos Hafuz Ramadan Eyoub
Nicosia–Kyrenia Hadji Hafuz Zyai Re-elected
Source: Cyprus Blue Book

Non-Muslim seats

Voting took place in Nicosia–Kyrenia on 4 November, in Larnaca–Famagusta on 5 and 6 November and in Limassol–Paphos on 6 November.[10]

Constituency Candidate Votes % Notes
Larnaca–Famagusta Ioannis Economidis 1,840 83.0 Re-elected
Achillea Liasides 1,686 76.0 Re-elected
Ioannis Vontitsianos 1,626 73.3 Elected
Nikolaos Rossos 781 35.2 Unseated
O. Iasonidis 186 8.4
Limassol–Paphos Onufrios Iasonidis 385 70.1 Elected
Kyrillos Papadopoulos 371 67.7 Elected
Socrates Fragoudis 261 47.5 Re-elected
Georgios Pavlidis 231 42.1 Unseated
Nicosia–Kyrenia Theofanis Theodotou 1,512 83.6 Elected
Paschalis Constantinides 1,488 82.3 Re-elected
Yerasimo Christodulides 1,463 80.9 Elected
Miltiadis Siakallis 433 23.9
Total ballots cast 4,575
Registered voters/turnout 12,093 37.83
Source: Protopapas

Aftermath

All non-Muslim elected members saw out their full five-year terms until the next elections in 1901.[11]

References

  1. ^ a b c An unexplored case of political change Workshop on Electoral Processes and Cleaves in Southern Europe
  2. ^ Thekla Kyritsi & Nikos Christofis (2018) Cypriot Nationalisms in Context: History, Identity and Politics, Springer, p96
  3. ^ a b c Yiannos Katsourides (2014) The History of the Communist Party in Cyprus: Colonialism, Class and the Cypriot Left, Bloomsbury, pp21, 50–52
  4. ^ Vasileios Protopapas (2011) Εκλογική ιστορία της Κύπρου: πολιτευτές, κόμματα και εκλογές στην Αγγλοκρατία (1878-1960) p155
  5. ^ The Cyprus Blue Book 1894–1895 p92
  6. ^ a b The Cyprus Blue Book 1897–1898 pp96–97
  7. ^ a b c Christos Kyriakides (2015) Το Κυπριακό Νομοθετικό Συμβούλιο (1878-1937) : Ίδρυση λειτουργία και κοινοβουλευτικές αντιπαραθέσεις : συνταγματικές ελευθερίες υπό περιορισμό και αμφισβήτηση University of Cyprus, p252
  8. ^ "6.11.1891: Οι γεvικές εκλoγές τoυ 1896. Σχηματίζovται oι πρώτoι συvδυασμoί υπoψηφίωv. Αρχίζoυv πρoεκλoγικές εκστρατείες". www.papademetris.net. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
  9. ^ Protopapas, p165
  10. ^ Protopapas, pp168–171
  11. ^ Protopapas, p171
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