2016 Cypriot legislative election

none August 2024 Cyprus parliamentary 2011 Cypriot legislative election 2011 2021 Cypriot legislative election 2021 56 of 80 seats in the House of Representatives 22 May 2016 Averof Neophytou 2009.jpg 120 120 160 0 0 Averof Neophytou 2013 Democratic Rally 20 seats, 34.3% 18 2 3.6pp 107,825 30.7% Andros-Kyprianou-2011.jpg 120 120 160 0 0 Andros Kyprianou 2009 Progressive Party of Working People 19 seats, 32.7% 16 3 7.0pp 90,204 25.7% Nikolas Papadopoulos.jpg 125 120 160 0 0 Nikolas Papadopoulos 2013 Democratic Party (Cyprus) 9 seats, 15.8% 9 0 1.3pp 50,923 14.5% Επίσκεψη ΥΠΕΞ Ν. Κοτζιά στην Κυπριακή Δημοκρατία (Λευκωσία, 26-28.10.2015) (21897204854) (cropped).jpg 120 120 160 0 0 Marinos Sizopoulos 2015 Movement for Social Democracy 5 seats, 8.9% 3 2 2.7pp 21,732 6.2% Giorgos Lillikas Senate of Poland.JPG 120 120 160 0 0 Giorgos Lillikas 2013 Citizens' Alliance (Cyprus) Did not stand 3 3 6.0pp 21,114 6.0% Eleni Theocharous (cropped).jpg 120 120 160 0 0 Eleni Theocharous 2016 Solidarity Movement (Cyprus) Did not stand 3 1 5.2pp 18,424 5.2% George Perdikes in 2015.jpg 120 120 160 0 0 George Perdikes 2011 Movement of Ecologists — Citizens' Cooperation 1 seat, 2.2% 2 1 2.6pp 16,909 4.8% Christos Christou (2023-01-13).jpg 120 120 160 0 0 Christos Christou 2008 ELAM (Cyprus) 0 seats, 1.1% 2 2 2.6pp 13,041 3.7% 2016 Cypriot Legislative Election.svg 475px Results by district President of the House of Representatives Yiannakis Omirou Movement for Social Democracy Demetris Syllouris Solidarity Movement (Cyprus)250px|thumb|Results by locality. Parliamentary elections were held in Cyprus on 22 May 2016 to elect 56 of the 80 Members of the House of Representatives. Political system Politics of Cyprus The Republic of Cyprus is a unitary republic with a presidential system of government. The President of Cyprus, directly elected in the middle of the legislative term, is both head of state and head of government, presiding over the executive Council of Ministers. The multi-member proportional elections to the House of Representatives however accommodate a multi-party system, where the elected president's party usually joins forces with smaller parties to form a joint coalition government that usually adapts to parliamentary shifts after legislative elections. Electoral system Elections in Cyprus The 80 seats in the House of Representatives are elected from six multi-member constituencies, with the number of seats allocated according to the population of each area. Of the 80 seats, 56 are elected by Greek Cypriots and 24 by Turkish Cypriots. However, due to the partition of the island in 1974, the 24 Turkish Cypriot seats are unfilled and the House of Representatives has de facto had 56 seats since its enlargement in the 1980s. The elections are held using open list proportional representation, with seats allocated using the Hare quota. Any remaining seats are allocated to lists that won at least one seat or parties that received at least 3.6% of the vote.http://in-cyprus.com/electoral-threshold-at-3-6/ Electoral threshold at 3.6% InCyprus 24 May 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160502141911/http://in-cyprus.com/electoral-threshold-at-3-6/ 2 May 2016 dead In the open list system, voters first select the list they want to vote for, and then select a number of candidates equal to a quarter of the number of seats in the constituency. Party leaders or other candidates heading coalitions are not required to receive preferential votes to be elected.Electoral system IPU Although compulsory voting had not been formally abolished at the time the elections took place (it was abolished in 2017), the law had not been enforced for years.https://cyprus-mail.com/2017/05/31/government-abolishes-compulsory-voting/ Government abolishes compulsory voting 3 May 2017 Cyprus Mail en-GB 7 May 2019 7 May 2019 https://web.archive.org/web/20190507182042/https://cyprus-mail.com/2017/05/31/government-abolishes-compulsory-voting/ dead Background 2011 The previous legislative election took place on 22 May 2011. President Demetris Christofias of the communist Progressive Party of Working People (AKEL) had led a coalition consisting of his party as well as the centrist Democratic Party (DIKO) and the social-democratic Movement for Social Democracy (EDEK) since his election in 2008. After three years in power, AKEL scored 32.7% in the 2011 legislative elections, narrowly behind the opposition center-right Democratic Rally, which polled 34.3% of votes. Meanwhile, AKEL's partners DIKO and EDEK scored 15.8% and 8.9% respectively. A mere two months after the legislative election, the Evangelos Florakis Naval Base explosion took place, triggering calls for President Christofias' resignation. 2013 Amidst widespread dissatisfaction and a deepening economic crisis, Christofias announced that he would not run for a second term in the presidential election in 2013.https://www.reuters.com/article/us-cyprus-president-idUSBRE84D0VT20120514 Cyprus president says will not seek re-election Michele Kambas 14 May 2012 Reuters 24 May 2016 Ultimately, Nicos Anastasiades of DISY emerged victorious in the presidential election, taking 45.5% of the vote, against 26.9% for the AKEL-backed Stavros Malas and the EDEK-backed Giorgos Lillikas. In the second round, Anastasiades captured 57.5% to 42.5% for Malas. The Anastasiades administration took office on 28 February 2013, comprising DISY, DIKO and the European Party (EVROKO). The Democrats later pulled out of the coalition, however.http://famagusta-gazette.com/diko-decides-to-leave-cyprus-government-coalition-p22474-69.htm DIKO decides to leave Cyprus government coalition 24 May 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20170107231018/http://famagusta-gazette.com/diko-decides-to-leave-cyprus-government-coalition-p22474-69.htm 7 January 2017 dead 2014 Roughly a year into the presidency of Nicos Anastasiades, the Cypriot parties faced the electorate in European Parliament elections. Ahead of the election, DISY and EVROKO announced that they would participate in the election on a joint ticket; the social democrats in EDEK and the Ecological and Environmental Movement (KOP) also formed an electoral pact for the event. With the economic problems the country faced under Demetris Christofias' AKEL-led government fresh in the minds of voters, the party plummeted to 27.0% of the vote, a loss of 8.4% points. Meanwhile, the DISY-EVROKO pact garnered 37.8%. This election also served as the first electoral test of the Citizens' Alliance (SYPOL) party of former presidential candidate Giorgos Lillikas, which polled 6.8% but failed to win seats in the European Parliament. The decline of AKEL and the rise of anti-establishment parties continued into 2015 and 2016.http://paperroom.ipsa.org/papers/paper_11548.pdf A Party of Fascist Mentality: The National Popular Front of Cyprus PaperRoom.IPSA.org Katsourides Yiannos 6 March 2016 10 March 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160310230902/http://paperroom.ipsa.org/papers/paper_11548.pdf dead 2016 Mere months before the 2016 legislative election, ex-DISY MEP Eleni Theocharous launched a splinter party, in opposition to Anastasiades' approach to the Cyprus issue.http://cyprus-mail.com/2016/01/15/theocharous-unveils-solidarity-platform-to-save-republic/ Theocharous unveils Solidarity platform to 'save Republic' 15 January 2016 Cyprus Mail 24 May 2016 1 December 2017 https://web.archive.org/web/20171201040505/http://cyprus-mail.com/2016/01/15/theocharous-unveils-solidarity-platform-to-save-republic/ dead She advocated for tighter co-operation with other parties particularly DIKO and EDEK. The new party was dubbed the Solidarity Movement. On 11 March 2016, it was announced that EVROKO would merge into the new party, placing its candidates on its lists in the upcoming elections.http://cyprus-mail.com/2016/03/11/evroko-to-merge-with-theocharous-solidarity-movement/ EVROKO to merge with Theocharous' Solidarity movement (Update) 11 March 2016 Cyprus Mail 24 May 2016 1 December 2017 https://web.archive.org/web/20171201035106/http://cyprus-mail.com/2016/03/11/evroko-to-merge-with-theocharous-solidarity-movement/ dead Parties and leaders PartyIdeologyLeader Democratic Rally (DISY) Liberal conservatism, Christian democracy Averof Neophytou Progressive Party of Working People (AKEL) Communism, Marxism-Leninism, Cypriot nationalism Andros Kyprianou Democratic Party (DIKO) Greek Cypriot nationalism, Centrism Nikolas Papadopoulos Movement for Social Democracy (EDEK) Greek Cypriot nationalism, Social democracy Marinos Sizopoulos Movement of Ecologists - Citizens' Cooperation (KOSP) Green politics, Social democracy George Perdikes National Popular Front (ELAM) Ultranationalism Christos Christou Citizens' Alliance (SYPOL) Populism, Social democracy Giorgos Lillikas Solidarity Movement (KA) National conservatism, Euroscepticism Eleni Theocharous Electoral campaigns A televised debate of DISY leader Averof Neophytou, AKEL leader Andros Kyprianou and DIKO leader Nicolas Papadopoulos on 18 May 2016 turned into a heated exchange on economy issues and the question of reunification. Papadopoulos claimed that "behind closed doors", AKEL was trying to resurrect the 2004 Annan plan that was turned down by the Greek side in a referendum. While Neophytou and Papadopoulos criticized AKEL's judgment of the economic situation ahead of the 2012–13 Cypriot financial crisis, Kyprianou recalled his two rivals' assessments at that time. Back then in October 2008, Neophytou had expected things to go "very well", though "based on overconsumption", while Papadopoulos had gone even further off the mark stating: "Yes, our economy will be impacted, but certainly not our financial system, which is one of the most resilient in the world."Angelos Anastasiou Election campaign heats up on economy issues Cyprus Mail http://cyprus-mail.com/2016/05/19/election-campaign-heats-economy-issues/ 19 May 2016 23 May 2016 7 January 2017 https://web.archive.org/web/20170107192849/http://cyprus-mail.com/2016/05/19/election-campaign-heats-economy-issues/ dead Opinion polls 750px Date Polling Firm DISY AKEL DIKO EDEK EVROKO KOP ELAM SYPOL KA Others Lead 13 May 2016 Symmetron / Marc 31.8 26.0 13.7 5.7 with KA 5.2 3.3 6.1 5.6 2.6 5.8 5–11 May 2016 Cypronetwork 32.2 25.5 14.2 5.7 with KA 5.4 3.2 6.1 4.2 3.5 6.7 5–10 May 2016 IMR 35.8 29.2 13.1 5.1 with KA 4.4 2.2 5.1 5.1 0.0 6.6 4–7 May 2016 PMR & C 31.5 24.9 14.3 6.0 with KA 4.4 3.3 6.6 4.3 4.7 6.6 26 Apr–3 May 2016 https://archive.today/20160523225547/http://www.electograph.com/2016/05/cyprus-may-2016-ipr-poll.html IMR 31.7 26.6 13.7 6.3 with KA 4.8 2.0 6.7 6.3 2.0 5.1 14–20 Apr 2016 IMR 33.8 26.2 12.7 6.2 with KA 4.0 2.7 6.6 5.3 2.5 7.6 8–18 Apr 2016 IMR 35.1 25.4 13.4 6.7 with KA 4.5 2.2 6.0 4.5 2.2 9.7 16 April 2016 Kathimerini 34.7 24.0 14.1 6.1 with KA 5.3 2.9 7.3 3.8 1.8 10.7 11–16 Apr 2016 PMR & C 31.9 24.8 13.8 6.0 with KA 4.7 2.6 6.8 4.4 5.0 7.1 3 April 2016 IMR 37.0 27.8 11.1 5.6 with KA 3.7 1.9 7.4 3.7 1.8 9.2 14–19 Mar 2016 PMR & C 31.9 25.9 12.8 6.3 with KA 5.0 2.5 6.54.4 4.7 6.0 25 Feb–2 Mar 2016 IMR 33.1 25.5 10.0 5.5 1.7 4.1 2.8 6.4 6.6 4.3 7.6 15–19 Feb 2016 PMR & C 34.0 24.7 13.7 6.0 2.1 4.6 3.3 6.2 – 5.4 9.3 13–17 Jul 2015 GPO 33.1 30.8 12.5 7.2 1.5 3.0 1.8 7.8 – 2.3 2.3 22 May Election 2011 34.3 32.7 15.8 8.9 3.9 2.2 1.1 — — 1.1 1.6 Exit polls + Election day exit pollsFirst exit polls indicate an eight-party House Cyprus Mail http://cyprus-mail.com/2016/05/22/first-exit-poll-give-lead-disy-akel/ 22 May 2016 22 May 2016 TV channel DISY AKEL DIKO EDEK KOP KA SYPOL ELAM CyBC 29.5 – 32.5 26.5–29.5 12–14 5–7 4–5 4–7 5–7 3.5–4.5 ANT1 29.5 – 33.5 25.5–29.5 12.5 –14.5 5.3–6.7 3.3–4.7 3.8–5.2 4.5–5.7 3.5–4.5 MEGA 30.5 – 33.5 26–29 11.5–14 4.5–6.6 3.5–4.5 3.5–4.5 4.5–6.6 2.5–4.5 Sigma 29 – 34 24–29 12–15 4–6.5 3.5–6 4.5–7 4.5–7 3–5.5 Results File:Cyprus Parliament 2016.svg Democratic Rally 107825 18 –2 Progressive Party of Working People 90204 16 –3 Democratic Party 50923 9 0 Movement for Social Democracy 21732 3 –2 Citizens' Alliance 21114 3 New Solidarity Movement 18424 3 New Movement of Ecologists – Citizens' Cooperation 16909 2 +1 National Popular Front 13041 2 +2 Animal Party Cyprus 4088 0 New People's Breath 3072 0 New #95D163 Flag Social Movement 2033 0 New #047F7C Union of Fighters for Justice 983 0 New #383D4E Independents 1041 0 0 11153 0 543186 Ministry of Interior By district Constituency DISY AKEL DIKO EDEK Citizens' Alliance Solidarity Movement Greens ELAM Others T/o Turnout # % S Seats # % S Seats # % S Seats # % S Seats # % S Seats # % S Seats # % S Seats # % S Seats # % S Seats Nicosia 35,867 29.25 6 29,288 23.89 5 16,323 13.31 3 8,301 6.77 1 7,457 6.08 1 6,919 5.64 1 9,096 7.42 2 4,265 3.48 1 5,086 4.15 0 65.50 Kyrenia 5,195 28.60 2 4,692 25.83 1 3,511 19.33 0 789 4.34 0 1,153 6.35 0 645 3.55 0 911 5.01 0 594 3.27 0 676 3.72 0 65.57 Famagusta 27,538 38.24 4 22,098 30.69 3 6,480 9.00 1 2,663 3.70 0 3,359 4.66 1 2,888 4.01 1 2,464 3.42 0 2,596 3.60 1 1,929 2.68 0 67.14 Larnaca 10,449 28.38 2 10,811 29.36 2 5,776 15.69 2 2,280 6.19 0 2,038 5.54 0 2,077 5.64 0 1,080 2.93 0 1,205 3.27 0 1,104 3.00 0 67.94 Limassol 21,876 30.48 3 17,893 24.93 4 11,533 16.07 2 3,077 4.29 1 5,184 7.22 1 5,254 7.32 1 2,681 3.74 0 2,421 3.37 0 1,846 2.57 0 66.09 Paphos 6,900 22.98 1 5,422 18.06 1 7,300 24.32 1 4,622 15.40 1 1,923 6.41 0 641 2.14 0 677 2.26 0 1,960 6.53 0 576 1.92 0 72.31 Analysis and reception The election had the lowest turnout for a legislative election in the history of the Republic of Cyprus. "General apathy with public affairs, but likewise frustration with the credit crunch and disappointment with politicians" was cited in the Cyprus Mail for the low turnout, whilst political analyst Hubert Faustmann cited "dissatisfaction of the public with the bigger parties" and "that parliamentary elections in Cyprus are not that important, given the weakness of the Cypriot parliament". AKEL was seen as the biggest loser of the election, possible reasons being cited as the party's failure to take up a "proactive" role and continued disillusionment with the Christofias administration. In contrast, an AKEL member, Irini Charalambidou, gained the highest number of votes for any candidate, following her stark critique of and fight against failing banks. The results were interpreted as a weakening of the front calling for a federal solution by the Turkish Cypriot press and political analyst Louis Igoumenides. Whilst the pro-solution parties, DISY and AKEL, still received a combined 56% of the votes against 40% obtained by anti-solution parties, in the case of a referendum the "yes" vote was expected by Igoumenides to be much lower, partly due to the refusal of fanatic voters of DISY and AKEL to collaborate.Cyprus parliamentary vote puts far-right in parliament https://www.reuters.com/article/us-cyprus-election-idUSKCN0YD0R4 Reuters 23 May 2016Hazou Elias Election outcome doesn't bode well for settlement, political observer says http://cyprus-mail.com/2016/05/23/election-outcome-doest-bode-well-settlement-political-observer-says/ Cyprus Mail 23 May 2016 23 May 2016 In terms of economics, the Anastasiades government became dependent on smaller parties to pass important reforms. This was expected to impede the ability of the government to pass these reforms, economic analyst Fiona Mullen said "I think we can forget privatization altogether".Cyprus's Anastasiades Sees Support Cut in Parliamentary Vote https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-05-22/cyprus-s-anastasiades-sees-mps-cut-in-first-vote-since-bailout Bloomberg News 23 May 2016 This was also the first time the far-right party ELAM entered the parliament. Anti-racist NGO KISA called upon political parties in the parliament to counter ELAM and stated its "concern over the number of absentee voters and the rightward drift of the electorate towards political parties that espouse racism and nationalism" and Turkish Cypriot daily Diyalog called the party "terrorist".KISA calls on parties to counter ELAM http://in-cyprus.com/kisa-calls-parties-counter-elam/ Cyprus Weekly 23 May 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160524121549/http://in-cyprus.com/kisa-calls-parties-counter-elam/ 24 May 2016 dead Cypriot electoral expert Yiannis Mavris said: "The electoral results herald a new political era for Cyprus. New small parties seem to be here to stay and will be exerting continuous pressure on traditional parties, which may find it difficult to win back their voters."News Analysis: Cypriot traditional parties count their losses in parliamentary election Xinhua News Agency http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2016-05/23/c_135382283.htm https://web.archive.org/web/20160524050722/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2016-05/23/c_135382283.htm dead 24 May 2016 23 May 2016 24 May 2016 References 30em Category:Legislative elections in Cyprus Cyprus Legislative Category:2010s in Cypriot politics Cyprus Cyprus