The centre-right Democratic Rally has secured first place in Cyprus’s parliamentary election, winning 27.2% of the vote and capturing seventeen seats in the legislature.
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Final results confirm that the left-wing AKEL finished in second place, taking 23.9% of the ballots to secure 16 seats.
Beyond the traditional duopoly, the far-right ELAM achieved a historic breakthrough by moving up to third place overall, winning 10.9% of the vote and claiming eight seats.
The centrist Democratic Party finished in fourth place with exactly 10%, earning them also 8 seats.
The election also confirmed a significant wave of anti-establishment sentiment across the island as two newly established political formations officially crossed the threshold to enter parliament.
The anti-corruption ALMA party secured 5.8% of the vote, while MEP Fidias Panayiotou’s Direct Democracy captured 5.4%, each holding four seats in the House of Representatives.
Parties and candidates
A total of 752 candidates have stood in this year’s election, 743 of them from more than 18 party formations and 9 as independents. The process elected 56 of the 80 members of the House of Representatives.
Since 1963, the 24 seats allocated to Turkish Cypriots have been vacant, as they withdrew from the institutions of the Republic of Cyprus, and the House of Representatives has de facto consisted of 56 seats.
Alongside the traditional parties DISY, AKEL, DIKO, EDEK and DIPA, new political formations also contested in the election and sought to channel discontent with the current political system.
Particular interest centred on the presence of ALMA – Citizens for Cyprus, led by former Auditor General Odysseas Michaelides, Volt Cyprus, as well as MEP Fidias Panayiotou’s ‘Direct Democracy’.
Why the parliamentary elections matter
Although Cyprus has a presidential system and the government does not depend directly on a parliamentary majority, the new House will play a crucial role in approving legislation, reforms and state budgets.
The outcome of the parliamentary elections is also expected to shape political alliances, the strength of President Christodoulides’s government and its ability to advance key policies on the economy, migration, social policy and energy.
The vote is likewise seen as a dress rehearsal for the 2028 presidential elections.
Additional sources • ΡΙΚ
