Polling stations closed at 6:00 p.m. on Sunday, May 24, in Cyprus’ parliamentary elections, with exit polls pointing to a closely contested battle between the conservative DISY party and the left-wing AKEL for first place.
The early projections also suggest an increasingly fragmented political landscape, with several smaller parties competing for representation in the new House of Representatives.
According to the exit poll broadcast by Cyprus’ public broadcaster RIK, DISY is projected to secure between 22.5% and 25.5% of the vote, while AKEL is estimated at 21% to 24%.
Far-right party ELAM appears firmly in third place with 10.5% to 12.5%, followed by DIKO with 8% to 10%.
Two newer political movements appear poised to cross the crucial 4% parliamentary threshold: “Direct Democracy,” led by Member of the European Parliament Fidias Panayiotou, which is projected at 5.5% to 7.5%, and the newly formed ALMA party of former Auditor General Odysseas Michaelides, estimated at 4.5% to 5.5%.
Meanwhile, EDEK and Volt are locked in a tight struggle for parliamentary representation, both polling between 3% and 4%.
The remaining projections are as follows:
• Ecologists’ Movement–Citizens’ Cooperation: 2%–3%
• DIPA: 2%–3%
• Hunters’ Movement: 2%–3%
• Other parties: 6%–8%
Strong Voter Turnout
Voter participation was notably high compared with the previous parliamentary elections.
According to Chief Returning Officer Elikkos Elias, final turnout reached 66.4% of registered voters. A total of 378,150 citizens cast ballots out of 569,182 eligible voters.
In the 2021 parliamentary elections, turnout stood at 63.9%.
At the 13 overseas polling stations, 4,374 voters participated out of 6,501 registered applications.
In addition, 3,175 voters cast ballots at the 13 polling stations established for the election of the representative of the Maronite Religious Group, representing a turnout of 68.7% among registered voters.
