Parties skeptical of Israel ties, far-right gain ground in Greek Cypriot parliamentary elections

The parliamentary elections held Sunday in the Greek Cypriot Administration resulted in gains for anti-Israeli parties and the far-right, while Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Christodoulides was reportedly disappointed that two parties supporting him failed to pass the electoral threshold.

The left-wing Progressive Party of Working People (AKEL), which has drawn attention for criticizing Israel’s transformation of the Greek Cypriot Administration into its “backyard,” reversed its declining trend seen in every election since 2011, increasing its vote share from 22.3% in the previous election to 23.9% in this poll.

Greek Cypriot media described the rise in AKEL’s vote share as significant, despite the party maintaining the same number of parliamentary seats at 15.

In the 56-seat House of Representatives, the Direct Democracy Cyprus Party, led by social media content creator Fidias Panayiotou secured four seats with 5.4% of the vote.

Panayiotou’s party has been labeled “anti-Israeli” due to his strong criticism in recent months of Israelis purchasing property in the Greek Cypriot Administration.

ELAM doubles seat count

The far-right National Popular Front (ELAM), which won four seats in parliament in 2021, doubled its representation to eight seats after securing 10.9% of the vote.

ELAM, which advocates the direct union of Cyprus with Greece and criticizes federal settlement talks, is seen by some observers as potentially influential in the 2028 presidential election.

Although the Democratic Rally Party (DISY), which supported the Annan Plan referendum, emerged as the largest party with 27.1% of the vote, the rise of the far right has sparked debate in both the Greek Cypriot Administration and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) over the possibility of a fundamental shift within the Greek Cypriot right.

Results disappoint Christodoulides

The significant loss of support for center-right parties other than DISY in the parliamentary election reportedly left Christodoulides dissatisfied.

According to Cyprus Times, Christodoulides said the Democratic Alignment (DIPA) and the Movement for Social Democracy (EDEK), both of which support him, deserved representation in the new parliament but narrowly failed to cross the electoral threshold, missing out by only a few hundred votes.