New political forces make gains in Cyprus vote

Cyprus' far right made gains in Sunday's parliamentary election while anti-corruption newcomers and social media influencers captured seats, results showed, which analysts said would reshape the island's political landscape.

Just over half a million Cypriots went to the polls on Sunday to elect 56 lawmakers, in an election seen as a litmus test for trends ahead of presidential elections in two years.

Key parties backing incumbent President Nicos Christodoulides, a centrist who ran as an independent in 2023, were among the biggest losers of the evening.

With the votes from Sunday's poll counted, results released by the Interior Ministry showed far-right ELAM, an offshoot of Greece's banned Golden Dawn party, with about 11% of the vote, up from 6.8% in the last legislative elections in 2021, placing it as the third-largest party in the legislature. 

It was behind the right-wing DISY and Communist AKEL parties which polled 27.2% and 23.8% of the vote, respectively, indicating a small decline for DISY and a small increase for AKEL.

While executive power in Cyprus rests with the presidency, the losses among Christodoulides' allies signal that he may need to form new alliances to get reelected in 2028.

Three centrist parties backing Christodoulides — Diko, Dipa and EDEK — suffered losses. EDEK, a Socialist party prominent in Cyprus politics since its establishment in 1969, and Dipa both failed to reach the 3.6% threshold to enter parliament.

Christodoulides said he respected the result and would strive to cooperate with parliament. "Cooperation with the new House of Representatives will be substantial, honest and institutionally responsible. Our Government will continue to work to achieve convergences where there are common concerns, common priorities and common perceptions of the public interest," he told reporters.

NEWBIES EJECT ESTABLISHED PARTIES

Corruption and cost-of-living concerns were prominent in the campaign.

ELAM campaigned against migration and took a hard line towards negotiations with Turkish Cypriots on the ethnically split island, advocating the closure of checkpoints linking the two sides across a U.N.-controlled buffer zone. 

ALMA, a newly formed movement campaigning on accountability and political reform, secured parliamentary representation for the first time with about 6% of the vote. It has ruled out any cooperation with ELAM in parliament.

Analysts Fiona Mullen and Hubert Faustmann said Christodoulides would likely face a delicate balancing act to muster support from dominant parties in the new parliament should he seek reelection, with his principal backers all but wiped out. 

"If he doesn't get the support of DISY, he necessarily needs ELAM support, formally or informally, for any chance of reelection," Faustmann said.

Another winner of the evening was Direct Democracy, founded by social media influencer and political outsider Phidias Panayiotou, with 5.4% of the vote.  Among his followers, he is best known for staying for weeks outside the offices of X owner Elon Musk in 2023, and eventually succeeding in his stated goal of getting a hug.