The University of Cyprus is entering election mode, with the countdown under way to choose its new leadership for the 2026-2030 period. Voting will take place on Wednesday, 7 October, to elect the rector, the vice-rector for academic affairs and the vice-rector for international relations, finance and administration.
The date was set by the Senate at its meeting on 10 June, which also appointed Savvas Christodoulou, senior university officer at the Human Resources Service, as returning officer. The election will be conducted under the university's revised rules.
The first key deadline falls on Tuesday, 22 September, at noon, when the window for submitting candidacies closes. The relevant forms confirm the term in question runs for four years, from 2026 to 2030. Each candidacy must be accompanied by the signatures of five members of academic staff.
Notably, the rules allow a single candidate to stand for both the rectorship and a vice-rectorship using separate forms. Likewise, a candidate for vice-rector may stand for both vice-rectorial positions. The two vice-rectorial elections are held simultaneously, and if the same person is elected to both, they choose which post to take up, with the runner-up in that race automatically elected to the other.
The battle of preferences
The new leadership will be chosen through a transferable vote system, allowing voters to rank candidates in order of preference. To be elected on the first count, a candidate must secure more than 50% of first-preference votes. If no one reaches that threshold, the candidate with the fewest first preferences is eliminated and their votes redistributed to those voters' next choice. The process continues until a candidate passes 50%.
Debates, videos and podcasts
Under the revised Communication Code, official public debates will be held for each of the three positions, overseen by the returning officer, while candidates will also be able to set out their positions through a dedicated university Forum and Blog.
The code also provides for short "elevator pitch" videos of up to 60 seconds, in which candidates present their core positions in a common format. The pre-election lineup also includes podcasts titled "The Rectorial Positions," each eight minutes long per candidate and following a shared set of themes. The code additionally allows for a special edition of the university's electronic newsletter presenting the candidacies and a calendar of campaign events.
One day after nominations close, on 23 September, the returning officer will meet all candidates to brief them on the process. From there, the campaign moves into its final stretch, with manifesto presentation events permitted up until one week before the vote.
Christofides steps aside
Whatever the outcome of the 7 October vote, the University of Cyprus will have a new rector. Current rector Tassos Christofides is in his second consecutive four-year term and cannot stand again, since the law allows the rector a four-year term with the option of a single re-election.
Christofides was first elected in 2018 and took office on 16 December of that year, before being re-elected in 2022. The rector chosen in October is expected to take up the role in mid-December, once Christofides' second term concludes.
