Nicosia - Just over half a million Greek Cypriots go to the polls on Sunday in parliamentary elections seen as a crucial indicator ahead of the presidential race in 2013.

The May 22 elections will determine the 56 members of the next five-year term of the House of Representatives, a mainly legislative body with no executive powers. The island's executive president is elected by a direct vote.

This will be the 10th parliamentary polls since the Republic of Cyprus was established in 1960.

In 1985 the Constitution raised the number of deputies elected to the House of Representatives from 50 to 80, 56 from the Greek Cypriot community and 24 from the Turkish Cypriot community.

The Turkish Cypriots withdrew unilaterally from Parliament in 1964 following inter-communal fighting and as part of rebellion against the government in the south.

In all, 412 candidates from six parties are contesting a seat in the new parliament. The campaign has focused on ongoing efforts to reunite the island with its Turkish north as well as the structural problems facing the economy.

The reunification question dominates all aspects of political life on the island, and this election campaign has been no exception.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974 into an internationally recognised Greek Cypriot south and a breakaway Turkish Cypriot north, after Turkey invaded the northern third of the island in response to a Greek-inspired coup.

Cyprus joined the European Union in 2004, but only the southern, Greek portion enjoys the benefits.
The two Cypriot sides relaunched peace talks in September 2008 and have focused on how to make a power-sharing federation work.

The United Nations is currently working with Greek Cypriot President Dimitris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu to achieve a breakthrough in stalled peace talks.

The two sides are discussing the possibility of establishing a federation of two states with a loose central government, but they have been unable to agree on how to implement the proposal, and the Cypriot Turks have not abandoned talk of outright independence.

Despite progress on the issues of governance and a power sharing formula under a future federation, years of negotiations between the two communities have failed to bridge the gap on more difficult issues such as territorial swaps and the property rights of thousands of internally displaced people.

According to the latest public opinion polls, the Communist, or Progressive Party of Working People (AKEL), of President Dimitris Christofias is heading for a humiliating electoral defeat while the main opposition Democratic Rally (DISY) is tipped to become the winner of the poll.

Although ahead, the right-wing DISY is still not predicted to win a clear majority in the 56-seat house, where both it and AKEL each now have 18 deputies.

Other smaller parties vying for seats are the Movement for Social Democracy (EDEK), with five seats, the European Party, with three seats, and the Ecological and Environmental Movement, with one delegate.

The Interior Ministry estimates the total number of Greek Cypriot registered voters at 530,000. Approximately 544 Turkish Cypriots living in the south have the right to vote in parliamentary elections.