Cyprus’ parliamentary elections on May 24, 2026, saw several political newcomers make gains, with the party founded by MEP Fidias Panayiotou securing four seats. Anti-establishment centrist movement ALMA – Citizens for Cyprus – and right-wing party ELAM also increased their representation, with ELAM doubling its number of seats in parliament from four to eight.
Following the vote, Panayiotou described the outcome as a “small victory” and said he was prepared to “work with everyone, even with President Nikos Christodoulides,” he told Brussels Signal.
For Panayiotou, the result marked the beginning of a new political movement in Cyprus.
“We are happy that we managed to enter parliament. It is the birth of direct democracy in Cyprus and we will try to do our best to make the lives of Cypriots better,” he said.
His movement, Direct Democracy Cyprus – founded in October 2025 – now holds representation both in Brussels and in the 56-seat Cyprus House of Representatives.
In 2024, Panayiotou told Brussels Signal that he did not view politics as his vocation. This latest electoral success, though, appears to have solidified his political standing.
Explaining why he chose to remain a Member of the European Parliament while also entering national politics, Panayiotou said resigning from his MEP position would have triggered costly new elections in Cyprus.
“If I had decided to step down from my position as an MEP, it would have meant that new European elections would need to be held in Cyprus, as I ran as an independent candidate in the 2024 elections. The estimated cost of these new elections would have been €6 million,” he said.
Panayiotou, who gathered the most votes of any Direct Democracy candidate, ceded his seat in the House of Representatives to runner-up Yiannis Laouris in order to keep his post in Brussels.
The election results reflected a fragmented political landscape in Cyprus. The centre-right Democratic Rally (DISY) won the most seats with 17 and 27.2 per cent of the vote, though it sits in opposition to the independent President Christodoulides. The left-wing Progressive Party of Working People (AKEL) secured 15 seats with 23.9 per cent, while the right-wing National Popular Front (ELAM) made significant gains, doubling its number of seats to eight and raising its vote share to 10.9 per cent – up from 6.8 per cent at the previous election. ELAM finished level on seats with the centrist Democratic Party (DIKO), which took 10 per cent.
Meanwhile, the pan-European liberal party Volt Cyprus failed to reach the electoral threshold required to enter parliament, missing out by around 1,900 votes despite polls suggesting it could secure representation.
Panayiotou’s party will now face several complex political issues, including the long-standing question of the reunification of Cyprus, divided between the internationally recognised south and the Turkish-occupied north since 1974.
Speaking to Brussels Signal, he said public consultation through the party’s digital platform, Agora, would guide its position on the matter.
“Just as was the case with the 2004 referendum on the Annan Plan, any solution to the Cyprus problem must be accepted by the majority of the Cypriot population. Therefore, as Direct Democracy Cyprus, we will always take into account what the people want through consultations conducted via our app, Agora,” he said.
