Cyprus Has Voted [FINAL UPDATE]: DISY Ahead as ELAM Surges, EDEK and DIPA Shut Out of New Parliament
With 99 per cent of ballots counted in Sunday’s House of Representatives elections in the Republic of Cyprus, the centre‑right Democratic Rally (DISY) has held on to first place with 27.2 per cent, maintaining its 17 seats despite a slight 0.8‑point fall in its share compared with 2021. Turnout rose to 66.47 per cent, up 2.5 points on the previous election, with 11,542 more people voting than in 2021. Abstention remains high at 33.6 per cent, while some 58,000 votes are effectively unrepresented in the new House, having gone to parties that failed to secure a seat.
According to the final figures from the Cyprus News Agency, valid votes number 253,210 (97.8 per cent), with 4,210 invalid ballots (1.63 per cent) and 1,477 blank ballots (0.57 per cent). In total, six parties manage to enter the new 56‑member House, while EDEK, DIPA and the Greens – along with Volt and the Active Citizens – United Hunters Movement – remain outside parliament.
DISY leads with 27.2 per cent and keeps its 17 seats, largely containing its losses to under one percentage point. AKEL – Left – Social Alliance improves its position, lifting its vote share by around 1.3–1.5 points to 23.9 per cent and holding on to its 15 seats. The left‑wing party thus consolidates second place and slightly narrows the gap with DISY.
The far‑right National Popular Front (ELAM) is the big winner of the night, roughly doubling its parliamentary strength. It climbs by about 4 percentage points to 10.9 per cent, securing 8 seats in the new House. The centrist Democratic Party (DIKO) posts losses of around 1.3 points, taking 10 per cent but losing one MP, dropping from 9 to 8 seats.
Two new formations, ALMA – Citizens for Cyprus and Direct Democracy, make their debut in the legislature. ALMA wins 5.8 per cent and 4 seats, while Direct Democracy takes 5.4 per cent, also translating into 4 seats. Their entry confirms the fragmentation of the party system and the appetite for new political vehicles beyond the traditional parties.
Several parties fail to cross the representation threshold and remain outside parliament despite some recording non‑negligible vote shares. EDEK suffers the heaviest losses of the election, dropping by about 3.5 points to 3.2 per cent and losing all 4 seats it held in 2021. DIPA records a similar decline of around 3 percentage points, also landing on 3.2 per cent and exiting the House after having held 4 seats in the previous parliament.
The Greens – Citizens’ Cooperation also fall short, taking 2 per cent and losing the 3 seats and 4.41 per cent they had secured in 2021. Volt Cyprus, which most pre‑election polls had shown inside the next parliament, ends on 3.1 per cent and remains outside. Active Citizens – United Hunters Movement take about 3.2 per cent but likewise fail to win representation. Other lists remain below 1 per cent of the vote and do not affect the distribution of seats.
Compared with 2021, the new House thus reflects both continuity and sharp change. DISY stays on top and retains its 17 seats, AKEL stabilises its representation while modestly increasing its share, and DIKO holds most of its strength despite losing one MP. At the same time, ELAM’s surge and the entry of ALMA and Direct Democracy redraw the map on the right and centre‑right, while the collapse of EDEK, DIPA and the Greens – coupled with Volt’s failure to enter – leaves a sizeable segment of voters without direct parliamentary representation.
Earlier exit‑poll based updates are kept below for reference as part of the election‑night live coverage.
Older Update
With 68.4 per cent of ballots counted in Sunday’s House of Representatives elections in the Republic of Cyprus, the centre‑right Democratic Rally (DISY) is holding first place on 27.1 per cent, consolidating its lead over left‑wing AKEL – Left – Social Alliance. Turnout stands at 66.47 per cent, with 258,897 of 569,182 registered voters casting a ballot and abstention reaching 33.53 per cent.
According to the latest figures of the Cyprus News Agency, valid votes number 253,210 (97.8 per cent), with 4,210 invalid ballots (1.63 per cent) and 1,477 blank ballots (0.57 per cent). Based on the current count, six parties enter the new 56‑member House, while traditional centrist forces EDEK and DIPA fail to clear the electoral threshold.
On 68.4 per cent of the vote counted, DISY secures 68,659 votes and 27.1 per cent, translating into 17 seats, a slight decrease of 0.8 points compared to the previous election. AKEL – Left – Social Alliance follows with 58,856 votes (23.2 per cent) and 15 seats, posting a 1.3‑point increase and narrowing the gap with DISY.
The far‑right National Popular Front (ELAM) is one of the night’s big winners, lifting its vote share by 4.1 points to 11.1 per cent (28,210 votes) and entering parliament with 8 MPs. The centrist Democratic Party (DIKO) wins 9.9 per cent (25,086 votes) and also takes 8 seats, though its share is down by 1.4 points from the last election.
Among the new formations, ALMA – Citizens for Cyprus debuts on 5.9 per cent (15,018 votes) and 4 seats, while Cyprus Direct Democracy wins 5.5 per cent (13,823 votes), also securing 4 seats in its first parliamentary contest. Their entry confirms the fragmentation of the party system that pre‑election polling had already signalled.
Parties Below the Threshold
Several parties fall short of the representation threshold and remain outside the new House. Active Citizens – United Hunters Movement takes 3.3 per cent (8,424 votes), a marginal 0.1‑point decline that leaves it without seats. DIPA wins 3.3 per cent (8,302 votes), but its support drops by 3.1 points and it exits parliament. EDEK also fails to return, polling 3.2 per cent (8,179 votes), a sharp 3.4‑point fall that deprives it of parliamentary representation for the first time in decades.
Volt Cyprus, contesting its first parliamentary election, reaches 3.1 per cent (7,849 votes) but does not cross the threshold. The Ecologists – Citizens’ Cooperation take 2 per cent (5,044 votes), remaining outside parliament as well. Other lists remain below 1 per cent of the vote: Democratic National Movement (DEK) on 0.7 per cent (1,856 votes), Sikou Pano on 0.5 per cent (1,309 votes), Agronomos Agricultural Workers’ Party on 0.3 per cent (749 votes), Democratic Change on 0.3 per cent (748 votes), the Cyprus Greens Party on 0.1 per cent (374 votes) and the Patriotic Front “Lakedaimonioi” on 0.1 per cent (324 votes).
Support for independent candidates is also minimal. Kyriakos Savva wins 124 votes, Ifigeneia Katsi 56, Christodoulos Christodoulou 44, Alexis Makridis 40, Marios Tenizis 29, People’s Struggle Freedom 21, Andreas Efstratiou 21, Christakis Rotsidis 15, Konstantinos Mavrommatis 13 and Loukas Stavrou 13 votes. The far‑left Resistance Communism list receives just 24 votes.
Cyprus’s first nationwide exit polls from RIK, Sigma, ANT1, Omega and Alpha indicate a knife‑edge battle between DISY and AKEL for first place in today’s parliamentary elections, with both parties measured broadly in the low to high 20 percent range. ELAM emerges as a solid third force, consistently in double digits, confirming its steady rise recorded in opinion surveys throughout the campaign. Newer parties such as ALMA and ADK appear to secure notable percentages, while DIKO seems confined to high single‑digit figures, clearly below its historical performance. A cluster of smaller parties, including Volt, EDEK, KOSP and DIPA, hover around the threshold, meaning the final composition of the new House will only be clarified once official results begin to solidify later in the evening.
Older Update
The first exit poll for the new parliament of Cyprus, released by the Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation on Sunday evening points to a tight race between the two traditional heavyweights, DISY and AKEL, in the 2026 parliamentary elections. Based on 80 per cent of the sample and published at 18:00, the survey estimates DISY on 22.5–25.5 per cent and AKEL close behind on 21–24 per cent.
Far‑right ELAM appears consolidated in third place with an estimated 10.5–12.5 per cent of the vote, confirming pre‑election surveys that showed the party strengthening its position in the new House of Representatives. DIKO is projected at around 8–10 per cent, suggesting a battle for the fourth spot and underlining the pressure on centrist forces backing President Nikos Christodoulides.
The exit poll also records a strong showing for new political formations, highlighting the fragmentation that analysts had predicted in the run‑up to the vote. ALMA is estimated at 4.5–5.5 per cent, while Direct Democracy is projected between 5.5 and 7.5 per cent, indicating that both could comfortably cross the parliamentary threshold. Among smaller parties, Volt and EDEK are each measured at 3–4 per cent, very close to the electoral threshold, with KOSP, DIPA and the Hunters’ Movement in the 2–3 per cent range. Other parties collectively gather between 6 and 8 per cent.
Election officials have stressed that exit polls are indicative and not official results, with the final tally expected later on Sunday night. However, the figures already suggest a fragmented parliament and a possible reshaping of coalition arithmetic in Nicosia.