Communists ahead in Cyprus poll

A parliamentary election official assists a voter in Nicosia on Sunday

NICOSIA, Cyprus -- Communists have taken a marginal lead in early counting following Greek Cypriot parliamentary elections on Sunday.

With half the votes tallied, the communist AKEL party had 35.1 percent of the vote compared with the 33.1 percent of the ruling right-wing Democratic Rally (DISY).

Exit polls also put AKEL slightly ahead. One poll by Mega television broadcast minutes after voting ended gave the communists a three-point lead over DISY.

It put AKEL in the lead with between 34 and 36.5 per cent of the vote compared to DISY's 32.5 to 35 per cent.

The parliament is expected to play a key role in preparing the island for European Union membership in the coming years.

Both parties are considered pro-European and have moderate views on how to resolve the long-running division of Cyprus.

The poll results mirrored unofficial predictions broadcast on two other television stations before polling stations had closed.

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Counting got underway after a 40-minute extension to voting granted to accommodate latecomers at polling stations.

AKEL has been averaging a third of the vote in parliamentary elections since the island became independent in 1960. The two parties have alternated in power in the House of Representatives for years.

The Republic of Cyprus has a presidential system, so the elections will not affect the centre-right government of President Glafcos Clerides.

It will, however, give an insight into voting trends ahead of the next presidential poll in February 2003.

Final, official results are expected about 2 a.m. Monday (2300 GMT), after polling stations closed at 6 p.m. (1500 GMT).

A total of 453 candidates, 86 of them women, are running for 56 parliamentary seats.

Voting is compulsory for the 467,182 registered Greek Cypriot voters, including 60,000 new voters over 18 who became eligible for the first time since the 1996 election.

A Cypriot votes under the watchful eye of an election official at a Nicosia school on Sunday

Turnout was as high as 92 percent, Interior Minister Christodoulos Christodoulou said.

AKEL, a Greek acronym for the Reformist Party of the Working People, and DISY had 19 and 20 seats respectively in the outgoing parliament elected in 1996.

AKEL is likely to have one or two seats more than DISY on the basis of the exit polls.

"Since it appears that no party has won a clear majority, we will all be seeking alliances both for the election of a leader of the house and for the next president," DISY President Nicos Anastasiades said after the exit polls were announced.

Different exit polls by four local television channels all agreed on giving AKEL the lead with 35-36 percent. DISY followed with 32-33 percent.

The centrist Democratic Union party was given around 15 percent, followed by the Socialist EDEK with 8 percent. The four remaining smaller parties were each given 2.5 percent.

If the exit poll predictions stand, the New Horizon party and Green Party will be represented in parliament with one or two seats each for the first time.

Cyprus has been partitioned for more than a quarter of a century, when Turkish forces invaded north Cyprus in 1974 after a brief Greek-inspired coup.

The northern part of the island is a breakaway Turkish Cypriot state recognised only by Ankara.