Cyprus to hold legislative elections

Voters across Cyprus will today head to the polls to elect 56 members of the country’s House of Representatives.

The Parliament is officially composed of 80 seats, with 56 and 24 being allocated for Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, respectively; the Turkish Cypriot seats have been remained empty since 1964. The main parties in the Parliament are the governing right-of-center Democratic Rally Party (DISY) with 18 seats and the left-of-center Progressive Party of Working People (AKEL) with 16.

The campaigns have focused on issues surrounding the unification of Cyprus and the country’s citizenship by investment plan. Cyprus’ DISY President, Nicos Anastasiades, faces a high disapproval rating, but his party enjoys a slight edge in recent polls.

Expect this election to be close, with DISY maintaining its rule in Parliament, but not gaining any new seats. If successful, DISY will likely focus on reaping the full benefits of the EU’s National Resilience and Recovery Plan and continuing to block the citizenship by investment plan. AKEL will likely continue their practice of blocking DISY-proposed policies, largely maintaining the status quo in Cyprus.

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