The most powerful conservative party in the parliamentary elections in Cyprus

In the parliamentary elections in the Republic of Cyprus, the DISY won the race. With more than 99.5 percent of the vote counted in the tiny European Union nation, DISY has managed to standardize around 27.8 percent (2016: 30.7), as announced by the Cyprus Electoral Authority on Sunday evening. The second strongest force is the left-wing AKEL with a good 22.3% (2016: 25.7%).

Consequently, the two large, established parties lost about three percentage points each compared to the previous elections. The third largest party, DIKO, the Democrat, scored 11.3% lower than the previous vote (2016: 14.5%). On the other hand, the far-right National Front Volkishi (ELAM) managed to achieve an increase of three percentage points, which amounted to less than 7 percent. The newly formed Dimokratiki Parataxi (Democratic Front) party also managed 4 percent from a permanent start.

From the conservative DISY party there were initially no statements about their performance for the evening. The left-wing AKEL general secretary, Andros Kyprianou, appeared disappointed. His party did not convince the electorate that they were doing better than the Tories against the friendly economy and corruption. “We admit that we cannot convince us that we are different from the other (parties),” he said in the evening on state television.

The granting of so-called golden passports to citizens from outside the European Union who obtained Cypriot citizenship in exchange for investments on the island caused scandals last year. Due to political interference in the case, even the Speaker of Parliament has resigned.

The result of the parliamentary elections has no direct consequences for the government, but it is a test of the mood for the presidential elections in 2023. The conservative politician Nikos Anastasiades is the current president and leads the government in the European country.