The 2024 European Parliament elections in
Cyprus
Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...
was held on 9 June 2024 as part of the
2024 European Parliament election
The 2024 European Parliament election was held in the European Union (EU) between 6 and 9 June 2024. It was the tenth Elections to the European Parliament, parliamentary election since the 1979 European Parliament election, first direct electio ...
.
This was the fifth parliamentary election since
Cyprus’s EU accession in 2004.
The
centre-right
Centre-right politics is the set of right-wing politics, right-wing political ideologies that lean closer to the political centre. It is commonly associated with conservatism, Christian democracy, liberal conservatism, and conservative liberalis ...
Democratic Rally
The Democratic Rally (, ΔΗΣΥ, DISY) is a Christian democratic and liberal-conservative political party in Cyprus led by Annita Demetriou. The party was founded on 4 July 1976 by veteran politician Glafcos Clerides. Two leaders of the par ...
(DISY), which has won every previous election to this body, emerged victorious again with 24.8% of the votes, securing 2 seats. The
communist
Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...
party
AKEL followed with 21.5% and 1 seat.
Independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States
* Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...
candidate
Fidias Panayiotou, a well-known
YouTuber
A YouTuber is a content creator and social media influencer who uploads or creates videos on the online video-sharing website YouTube, typically posting to their personal YouTube channel. The term was first used in the English language in 2006 ...
and
TikTok
TikTok, known in mainland China and Hong Kong as Douyin (), is a social media and Short-form content, short-form online video platform owned by Chinese Internet company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which may range in duration f ...
er, finished third with 19.4% of the votes, earning one seat in the European Parliament. Panayiotou had no support from any party, making him the first elected independent
MEP in the history of Cyprus.
His election sent shockwaves through the Cypriot political system, with Fidias finishing within several percentage points behind AKEL and DISY, which have dominated the Cypriot political system since independence. The 24-year-old YouTuber, with no political experience, gained a seat at the expense of well-established parties like
ELAM
Elam () was an ancient civilization centered in the far west and southwest of Iran, stretching from the lowlands of what is now Khuzestan and Ilam Province as well as a small part of modern-day southern Iraq. The modern name ''Elam'' stems fr ...
,
DIKO and
EDEK.
Background
To reduce costs, the election was held concurrently with the municipal elections. Voters were provided with six different ballots.
This was the first such vote to take place since the
withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union. Also known as 'Brexit', the move impacted Cyprus due to ties linked to its status as a fellow
Commonwealth
A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...
member and former UK colony.
The election was primarily focused on the issue of
illegal migration, with
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Film and television
*'' Præsident ...
Nikos Christodoulides
Nikos Christodoulides (; born 6 December 1973) is a Cypriot politician, diplomat, and academic who has served as the 8th President of Cyprus since 2023. He previously served as Government Spokesman from 2014 to 2018 and List of Ministers of Fore ...
declaring that
Cyprus
Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...
is in "a state of serious crisis".
Due to the
Gaza war
The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel fought since 7 October 2023. A part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflict, Gaza–Israel conflicts dating ...
, the number of illegal migrants in Cyprus skyrocketed, with more than 2,000 people arriving in the first three months of 2024, compared to just 78 in the same period the previous year. According to the president, 7% of the Cypriot population now consists of migrants.
This increasing migrational upheaval led to a significant rise in the poll numbers of the
far-right
Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on the far end of the ...
,
anti-immigration
Opposition to immigration, also known as anti-immigration, is a political position that seeks to restrict immigration. In the modern sense, immigration refers to the entry of people from one state or territory into another state or territory in ...
party
ELAM
Elam () was an ancient civilization centered in the far west and southwest of Iran, stretching from the lowlands of what is now Khuzestan and Ilam Province as well as a small part of modern-day southern Iraq. The modern name ''Elam'' stems fr ...
, whose
manifesto
A manifesto is a written declaration of the intentions, motives, or views of the issuer, be it an individual, group, political party, or government. A manifesto can accept a previously published opinion or public consensus, but many prominent ...
is primarily focused on illegal migration.
The
independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States
* Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...
candidacy of 24-year-old YouTuber and TikToker
Fidias Panayiotou was initially viewed as a joke and was ignored by political parties.
Panayiotou was open about his lack of political knowledge and did not express any concrete political positions.
However, his adept use of
social media
Social media are interactive technologies that facilitate the Content creation, creation, information exchange, sharing and news aggregator, aggregation of Content (media), content (such as ideas, interests, and other forms of expression) amongs ...
successfully crafted his image as the main
anti-establishment
An anti-establishment view or belief is one which stands in opposition to the conventional social, political, and economic principles of a society. The term was first used in the modern sense in 1958 by the British magazine ''New Statesman'' ...
and
anti-partisan candidate.
His name appeared in
opinion poll
An opinion poll, often simply referred to as a survey or a poll, is a human research survey of public opinion from a particular sample. Opinion polls are usually designed to represent the opinions of a population by conducting a series of qu ...
s just one month before the election, showing single-digit voting intentions and zero seat projections.
This election was the European Parliament election with the highest number of
Turkish Cypriot
Turkish Cypriots or Cypriot Turks ( or ; ) are so called ethnic Turks originating from Cyprus. Turkish Cypriots are mainly Sunni Muslims. Following the Ottoman conquest of the island in 1571, about 30,000 Turkish settlers were given land onc ...
candidates from different parties. The incumbent Member of the Parliament
Niyazi Kizilyurek was running again with
AKEL, the new founded party
Volt Cyprus was showing
Hulusi Kilim as a lead candidate,
and
Oz Karahan was running as a candidate from
KOSP. The government also started campaigns for including the Turkish Cypriots more into the elections.
The
Democratic Rally
The Democratic Rally (, ΔΗΣΥ, DISY) is a Christian democratic and liberal-conservative political party in Cyprus led by Annita Demetriou. The party was founded on 4 July 1976 by veteran politician Glafcos Clerides. Two leaders of the par ...
(DISY) has won every election since the island's accession into the EU in 2004, though the party recently suffered defeat in the
presidential election
A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President.
Elections by country
Albania
The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public.
Chile
The p ...
.
Democratic Rally
Nine
DISY personalities announced their interest for the European Parliament Elections. The six nominees were selected through an internal election process, with former Health Minister
Michalis Hatzipantelas emerging as the top candidate.
Marios Pelekanos, one of the three vice presidents of the
Democratic Rally
The Democratic Rally (, ΔΗΣΥ, DISY) is a Christian democratic and liberal-conservative political party in Cyprus led by Annita Demetriou. The party was founded on 4 July 1976 by veteran politician Glafcos Clerides. Two leaders of the par ...
, finished second to last in the internal election and was not included in the list of six nominees. Pelekanos expressed profound dissatisfaction and subsequently resigned from his position within the party leadership, citing a series of underlying events that had undermined his standing. After multi-day discussions with
ELAM
Elam () was an ancient civilization centered in the far west and southwest of Iran, stretching from the lowlands of what is now Khuzestan and Ilam Province as well as a small part of modern-day southern Iraq. The modern name ''Elam'' stems fr ...
, on March 22, 2024, it was announced that he would run in the
European Elections
Elections to the European Parliament take place every five years by universal adult suffrage; with more than 400 million people eligible to vote, they are the second largest democratic elections in the world after India's.
Until 2019, 751 ...
as a candidate of the
ultranationalist
Ultranationalism, or extreme nationalism, is an extremist form of nationalism in which a country asserts or maintains hegemony, supremacy, or other forms of control over other nations (usually through violent coercion) to pursue its specific ...
party. The leader of the Democratic Rally,
Annita Demetriou
Annita Demetriou (Greek: Αννίτα Δημητρίου; born 18 October 1985) is a Cypriot politician, who serves as President of the Cypriot House of Representatives since June 2021, and as the President of the Democratic Rally (DISY) since ...
, harshly condemned this move, and the center-right party proceeded by deleting Pelekanos from its registry, emphasising the vast differences in politics between the two parties.
Despite numerous challenges, including the candidacy of Marios Pelekanos with
ELAM
Elam () was an ancient civilization centered in the far west and southwest of Iran, stretching from the lowlands of what is now Khuzestan and Ilam Province as well as a small part of modern-day southern Iraq. The modern name ''Elam'' stems fr ...
,
Eleni Theocharous
Eleni Theocharous (; born 24 June 1953) is a Cypriot paediatric surgeon and politician who leads the political party Solidarity Movement. She was elected to the European Parliament in 2009, re-elected in 2014 and served until 2019. Between 2001 ...
with
DIKO,
and Pantelis Poietis with
DIPA,
as well as many corruption scandals from
Anastasiades' administration and widespread dissatisfaction with
DISY's role as the main opposition in
Christodoulides' government (with various DISY members in the current cabinet despite the party's stance as opposition), the
centre-right
Centre-right politics is the set of right-wing politics, right-wing political ideologies that lean closer to the political centre. It is commonly associated with conservatism, Christian democracy, liberal conservatism, and conservative liberalis ...
party managed to achieve another first-place finish, maintaining its two seats in the
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...
. However, the 24.8% of the popular vote is the worst result in the party's history, significantly lower than the 29% in the
2019 election and the 37.8% in the
2014 election.
Progressive Party of Working People
Anna Theologou, leader of the
centre-left
Centre-left politics is the range of left-wing political ideologies that lean closer to the political centre. Ideologies commonly associated with it include social democracy, social liberalism, progressivism, and green politics. Ideas commo ...
party
Generation Change, is featured as one of
AKEL's candidates, effectively merging the two parties. Theologou is regarded as a highly reputable politician, with the ability to attract votes to the
communist
Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...
party based on her personal influence.
After consistently placing second in every
European Parliament Election
Elections to the European Parliament take place every five years by universal adult suffrage; with more than 400 million people eligible to vote, they are the second largest democratic elections in the world after India's.
Until 2019, 751 ...
, some opinion polls indicated a surge in the party's performance relative to the frontrunner
DISY, with some polls even positioning it in the first place. Moreover, the opinion polls did not include
Turkish Cypriot
Turkish Cypriots or Cypriot Turks ( or ; ) are so called ethnic Turks originating from Cyprus. Turkish Cypriots are mainly Sunni Muslims. Following the Ottoman conquest of the island in 1571, about 30,000 Turkish settlers were given land onc ...
voters, although they have the right to vote. Since AKEL's candidates included the Turkish Cypriot
Niyazi Kizilyurek, the Turkish Cypriot vote was expected to boost the percentage for the
left-wing
Left-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social ...
party even more.
Despite these expectations,
AKEL experienced its worst defeat in its history, receiving just 21.5% of the votes, only 2 percentage points ahead of
independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States
* Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...
candidate and
YouTuber
A YouTuber is a content creator and social media influencer who uploads or creates videos on the online video-sharing website YouTube, typically posting to their personal YouTube channel. The term was first used in the English language in 2006 ...
Fidias Panayiotou. The party lost one of its two seats and now, for the first time in its history, holds only one seat in the
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...
.
National Popular Front
The
far-right
Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on the far end of the ...
party
ELAM
Elam () was an ancient civilization centered in the far west and southwest of Iran, stretching from the lowlands of what is now Khuzestan and Ilam Province as well as a small part of modern-day southern Iraq. The modern name ''Elam'' stems fr ...
was projected by all opinion polls to secure its first seat in the
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...
. Formerly considered on the fringe, the party was now anticipated to achieve a third-place finish, surpassing
DIKO, with every poll indicating a percentage higher than 13%. Known for its
anti-establishment
An anti-establishment view or belief is one which stands in opposition to the conventional social, political, and economic principles of a society. The term was first used in the modern sense in 1958 by the British magazine ''New Statesman'' ...
and often labeled
extremist
Extremism is "the quality or state of being extreme" or "the advocacy of extreme measures or views". The term is primarily used in a political or religious sense to refer to an ideology that is considered (by the speaker or by some implied shar ...
positions, the party was now being considered "mainstream" for the first time, as
illegal migration became the most important issue for Cypriot voters.
The party announced the candidacy of Pavlos Ioannou, who served as the financial commissioner of
Cyprus
Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...
from 2013 to 2023. The candidacy of the reputable figure caused surprise and was anticipated to attract more
moderate
Moderate is an ideological category which entails centrist views on a liberal-conservative spectrum. It may also designate a rejection of radical or extreme views, especially in regard to politics and religion.
Political position
Canad ...
voters to the party often referred to as "
extremist
Extremism is "the quality or state of being extreme" or "the advocacy of extreme measures or views". The term is primarily used in a political or religious sense to refer to an ideology that is considered (by the speaker or by some implied shar ...
". Notably, Ioannou clarified that he is not a member of ELAM but has been granted complete freedom of speech and disagreement by the party. He emphasized that his views align more with
rationalism
In philosophy, rationalism is the Epistemology, epistemological view that "regards reason as the chief source and test of knowledge" or "the position that reason has precedence over other ways of acquiring knowledge", often in contrast to ot ...
rather than
far-right
Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on the far end of the ...
ideologies. Additionally, Ioannou stated his commitment not to vote against the rights of the
LGBTQ+ community
The LGBTQ community (also known as the LGBT, LGBT+, LGBTQ+, LGBTQIA, LGBTQIA+, or queer community) comprises LGBTQ individuals united by a common culture and social movements. These communities generally celebrate pride, diversity, individua ...
in potential European votes, provided that the rights of other groups were not impeded.
The announcement of Marios Pelekanos' candidacy with
ELAM
Elam () was an ancient civilization centered in the far west and southwest of Iran, stretching from the lowlands of what is now Khuzestan and Ilam Province as well as a small part of modern-day southern Iraq. The modern name ''Elam'' stems fr ...
, who had been serving as vice president of the
centre-right
Centre-right politics is the set of right-wing politics, right-wing political ideologies that lean closer to the political centre. It is commonly associated with conservatism, Christian democracy, liberal conservatism, and conservative liberalis ...
DISY until a few weeks prior, created a political upheaval. Pelekanos, who also held the position of government spokesperson in
Anastasiades' administration from 2021 to 2023, was believed to have the potential to attract a considerable number of DISY voters to ELAM.
The party did succeed in securing its first seat, winning 3 percentage points more than in 2019,
but the "Fidias Phenomenon" likely hindered its rising momentum, with the vote share of 11.2% being lower than what most opinion polls predicted.
Democratic Party
Despite finishing third in all previous European elections, the
Democratic Party (DIKO) now appeared fourth in every opinion poll released, falling below the
far-right
Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on the far end of the ...
ELAM
Elam () was an ancient civilization centered in the far west and southwest of Iran, stretching from the lowlands of what is now Khuzestan and Ilam Province as well as a small part of modern-day southern Iraq. The modern name ''Elam'' stems fr ...
.
The party's candidates featured the veteran politician and paediatric surgeon
Eleni Theocharous
Eleni Theocharous (; born 24 June 1953) is a Cypriot paediatric surgeon and politician who leads the political party Solidarity Movement. She was elected to the European Parliament in 2009, re-elected in 2014 and served until 2019. Between 2001 ...
, who had served as an
MEP from 2009 to 2019 initially with
DISY and later with the newly established
Solidarity Movement
Solidarity or solidarism is an awareness of shared interests, objectives, standards, and sympathies creating a psychological sense of unity of groups or classes. True solidarity means moving beyond individual identities and single issue politics ...
.
The
conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
politician, who was ranked 3 times as the second best MEP by the
DEVE Committee, was widely considered a strong candidate to attract
nationalist
Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...
voters away from ELAM.
The list also featured
biochemist
Biochemists are scientists who are trained in biochemistry. They study chemical processes and chemical transformations in living organisms. Biochemists study DNA, proteins and Cell (biology), cell parts. The word "biochemist" is a portmanteau of ...
Leondios Kostrikis, who served as a member of the Advisory Committee of the Ministry of Health during the
Covid-19 pandemic in Cyprus.
The Professor is also internationally known for his discovery of a new
COVID-19 variant in January 2022, the so-called "Deltacron", at the
University of Cyprus
The University of Cyprus (Greek language, Greek: Πανεπιστήμιο Κύπρου, Turkish language, Turkish: Kıbrıs Üniversitesi) is a public university, public research institute, research university established in Cyprus in 1989. It ...
.
The historic party, which had consistently finished third in every legislative and European election in
Cyprus
Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...
since its foundation in 1976,
suffered a significant defeat. The vote share of 9.7% marked the first single-digit result in the party's history, and the fifth-place finish was its lowest ranking. The well-established party, with tens of thousands of members, received 10 percentage points less than the 24-year-old
YouTuber
A YouTuber is a content creator and social media influencer who uploads or creates videos on the online video-sharing website YouTube, typically posting to their personal YouTube channel. The term was first used in the English language in 2006 ...
Fidias Panayiotou, who ran as an
independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States
* Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...
candidate with no political experience.
Despite this setback,
DIKO managed to retain its seat, re-electing incumbent
MEP Costas Mavrides.
EDEK Socialist Party
According to all opinion polls, the
centre-left
Centre-left politics is the range of left-wing political ideologies that lean closer to the political centre. Ideologies commonly associated with it include social democracy, social liberalism, progressivism, and green politics. Ideas commo ...
party
EDEK was projected to lose its seat in the
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...
. Critics accused the party of losing its identity, with some even claiming that many of its political positions became indistinguishable from those of the
far-right
Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on the far end of the ...
party
ELAM
Elam () was an ancient civilization centered in the far west and southwest of Iran, stretching from the lowlands of what is now Khuzestan and Ilam Province as well as a small part of modern-day southern Iraq. The modern name ''Elam'' stems fr ...
.
EDEK received 5.1% of the popular vote, marking the lowest percentage in its 55-year history. The "traditional 4th-place party" lost its seat in the
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...
(which it had consistently secured since 2009) and finished 6th, marking its lowest place in history.
Movement of Ecologists – Citizens' Cooperation
After the merge of its alliance party
SYPOL with
EDEK in 2021, the
green
Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a com ...
party
KOSP cooperated with
Echmi Movement and
Union of Cypriots
The Union of Cypriots (; ) is a progressive and Cypriot nationalist political organization in Cyprus. The Union of Cypriots campaigns for a unitary Cypriot state, the restoration of the constitutional order that was destroyed in Cyprus after the ...
for the
2024 European Election.
In October 2023,
Alexandra Attalides, one of the three elected
KOSP MPs, resigned from the party. She cited dissatisfaction with the party's stance on the
Cyprus problem
The Cyprus problem, also known as the Cyprus conflict, Cyprus issue, Cyprus dispute, or Cyprus question, is an ongoing dispute between the Greek Cypriot and the Turkish Cypriot community in the north of the island of Cyprus, where troops of th ...
, its inability to produce concrete and comprehensive policy proposals, and the vindictive behaviour of its collective members. Attalides also accused the party of diverging from the policies, principles, and values of the
European Greens
The European Green Party (EGP), also referred to as European Greens, is a transnational, European political party representing national parties from across Europe who share Green values.
The European Greens works closely with the Greens–Eur ...
, promoting
xenophobia
Xenophobia (from (), 'strange, foreign, or alien', and (), 'fear') is the fear or dislike of anything that is perceived as being foreign or strange. It is an expression that is based on the perception that a conflict exists between an in-gr ...
, and failing to oppose large-scale developments that harm the environment.
In November 2023,
Alexandra Attalides announced her membership in the newly established
Volt Cyprus,
and the following month, she was elected as the party's president.
The day after
Alexandra Attalides' shocking resignation and her serious accusations, the president of
KOSP,
Charalambos Theopemptou, resigned from his position. Following an internal election, the presidency returned to
George Perdikes
Giorgos Perdikis (; born 23 March 1962) is a Cypriot politician who was the leader of the Cyprus Green Party from 2014 to 2020 and is a Member of the House of Representatives since 2001.
Perdikis studied civil engineering at the Aristotle Uni ...
, who had previously served as the party's president from 2014 to 2020.
Following
Alexandra Attalides' resignation, more resignations ensued, including 16 of the 67 members of the Central Committee. Efi Xanthou, a 2019 candidate for the
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...
and
George Perdikes
Giorgos Perdikis (; born 23 March 1962) is a Cypriot politician who was the leader of the Cyprus Green Party from 2014 to 2020 and is a Member of the House of Representatives since 2001.
Perdikis studied civil engineering at the Aristotle Uni ...
' opponent in the internal election after
Charalambos Theopemptou's resignation,
left the party in May 2024, accusing it of making undemocratic decisions.
On March 21, 2024,
Fidias Panayiotou, a globally renowned Cypriot
YouTuber
A YouTuber is a content creator and social media influencer who uploads or creates videos on the online video-sharing website YouTube, typically posting to their personal YouTube channel. The term was first used in the English language in 2006 ...
, confirmed speculations that he was approached by the
KOSP to be included in their list of six candidates for the
European elections
Elections to the European Parliament take place every five years by universal adult suffrage; with more than 400 million people eligible to vote, they are the second largest democratic elections in the world after India's.
Until 2019, 751 ...
. Panayiotou engaged his audience by conducting a poll on
TikTok
TikTok, known in mainland China and Hong Kong as Douyin (), is a social media and Short-form content, short-form online video platform owned by Chinese Internet company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which may range in duration f ...
to gauge their opinion on his potential candidacy, offering two options: running as a member of
KOSP or running independently. Out of a total of 10,000 participants, 70% favored the latter option. Consequently, Panayiotou announced his decision to pursue an
independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States
* Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...
candidacy.
After facing numerous challenges and resignations, the party received its worst result since 2001, garnering just 1.3% of the popular vote and failing to secure any seats.
This marked a significant decline from the 3.29% achieved in the
2019 European election
The 2019 European Parliament election was held in the European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states tha ...
, leaving the party with only one-third of its previous political power.
Volt Cyprus
On October 26, 2023, the
New Wave and Famagusta for Cyprus movements announced their merger, resulting in the formation of
Volt Cyprus as a political party. The Cyprus branch of
Volt Europa
Volt Europa (known mononymously as Volt) is a transnational pro-European and Federalisation of the European Union, federalist European political alliances, European political movement. It operates as a Pan-European identity, pan-European umbrell ...
was officially established on December 3, 2023, shortly after the resignation of
MP Alexandra Attalides from
KOSP.
Alexandra Attalides, who received the 2021 "International Anti-Corruption Champions Award" from the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, was elected as the party's president.
Attalides prioritised addressing
climate change
Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...
,
corruption
Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense that is undertaken by a person or an organization that is entrusted in a position of authority to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's gain. Corruption may involve activities ...
, the
Cyprus problem
The Cyprus problem, also known as the Cyprus conflict, Cyprus issue, Cyprus dispute, or Cyprus question, is an ongoing dispute between the Greek Cypriot and the Turkish Cypriot community in the north of the island of Cyprus, where troops of th ...
, the rise of the
far-right
Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on the far end of the ...
, and
immigration
Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as Permanent residency, permanent residents. Commuting, Commuter ...
as the main focuses for the party.
The party's candidates for the
European Elections
Elections to the European Parliament take place every five years by universal adult suffrage; with more than 400 million people eligible to vote, they are the second largest democratic elections in the world after India's.
Until 2019, 751 ...
include
Makarios Drousiotis, a
political activist
A political movement is a collective attempt by a group of people to change government policy or social values. Political movements are usually in opposition to an element of the status quo, and are often associated with a certain ideology. Some ...
,
journalist
A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism.
Roles
Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...
, and
writer
A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Writers may develop different forms of writing such as novels, short sto ...
. Drousiotis had garnered significant attention following the publication of a
trilogy
A trilogy is a set of three distinct works that are connected and can be seen either as a single work or as three individual works. They are commonly found in literature, film, and video games. Three-part works that are considered components of ...
of books containing personal accounts and third-party documents uncovering extensive
corruption
Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense that is undertaken by a person or an organization that is entrusted in a position of authority to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's gain. Corruption may involve activities ...
scandals during the presidency of
Nicos Anastasiades
Nicos Anastasiades ( ; born 27 September 1946) is a Cypriot politician and businessperson, who served as the seventh president of Cyprus from 2013 to 2023. Previously, he was the leader of Democratic Rally between 1997 and 2013 and served as Me ...
. His third publication, "Mafia State," instigated a criminal investigation against Anastasiades, prompting the involvement of international legal practitioner
Gabrielle Louise McIntyre
Gabrielle Louise McIntyre (Australian) is an international legal practitioner, jurist, and served as the Chairperson of the Seychelles' Truth, Reconciliation and National Unity Commission.
She previously served as the ''Chef de Cabinet'' and Pri ...
.
Despite being a newcomer, the party received 2.9% of the votes, surpassing
KOSP and
DIPA, both of which hold seats in the
House of Representatives
House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...
.
Makarios Drousiotis received the most votes among the six candidates of Volt Cyprus. However, the party did not secure any seats.
Democratic Alignment
Pantelis Poietis, formerly the Deputy Secretary of International Relations of the
Democratic Rally
The Democratic Rally (, ΔΗΣΥ, DISY) is a Christian democratic and liberal-conservative political party in Cyprus led by Annita Demetriou. The party was founded on 4 July 1976 by veteran politician Glafcos Clerides. Two leaders of the par ...
(DISY), is now one of the six candidates nominated by
DIPA for the
European Elections
Elections to the European Parliament take place every five years by universal adult suffrage; with more than 400 million people eligible to vote, they are the second largest democratic elections in the world after India's.
Until 2019, 751 ...
. After resigning from DISY on September 9, 2022, Poietis supported
Nicos Christodoulides Nicos may refer to:
*Nicos Anastasiades (born 1946), Cypriot politician and leader of the right wing political party DISY
*Nicos Jiapouras (born 1970), Cypriot International footballer
*Nicos Nicolaides, Greek painter and writer
*Nicos Panayiotou ( ...
in the
2023 Presidential Election, who stood as an opposing candidate to DISY's
Averof Neofytou
Averof Neofytou (; born 31 July 1961) is a Cypriot politician, who was the President of the then-ruling Democratic Rally
The Democratic Rally (, ΔΗΣΥ, DISY) is a Christian democratic and liberal-conservative political party in Cypru ...
.
Fidias Panayiotou
Fidias Panayiotou, a 24-year-old
YouTuber
A YouTuber is a content creator and social media influencer who uploads or creates videos on the online video-sharing website YouTube, typically posting to their personal YouTube channel. The term was first used in the English language in 2006 ...
, turned down an offer to join the
Ecologists
This is a list of notable ecologists.
A-D
* John Aber (United States)
* Aziz Ab'Saber (Brazil)
* Charles Christopher Adams (United States)
* Warder Clyde Allee (United States)
* Herbert G. Andrewartha (Australia)
* Sarah Martha Baker ( ...
' electoral list and instead announced his
independent candidacy for this election. He initiated a
social media campaign with the goal of increasing youth
voter registration
In electoral systems, voter registration (or enrollment) is the requirement that a person otherwise Suffrage, eligible to Voting, vote must register (or enroll) on an electoral roll, which is usually a prerequisite for being entitled or permitted ...
. On 30 March 2024, he
live-streamed
Livestreaming, live-streaming, or live streaming is the streaming media, streaming of video or Digital audio, audio in real-time communication, real time or near real time. While often referred to simply as ''streaming'', the real-time nature ...
himself on
YouTube
YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
running 80 km from
Kyrenia
Kyrenia is a city on the northern coast of Cyprus, noted for its historic harbour and castle. It is under the '' de facto'' control of Northern Cyprus.
While there is evidence showing that the wider region of Kyrenia has been populated before, ...
to
Larnaca
Larnaca, also spelled Larnaka, is a city on the southeast coast of Cyprus and the capital of the Larnaca District, district of the same name. With a district population of 155.000 in 2021, it is the third largest city in the country after Nicosi ...
to encourage young people to register for the election. On that day alone, over 2000 new voter registrations were recorded. He also launched a podcast series, interviewing renowned political and non-political personalities, to engage both himself and his audience in political discussions.
His candidacy was initially widely viewed as a joke and not perceived as a threat by political parties.
The fact that no independent candidate had ever come close to being elected as an
MEP in the history of Cyprus
combined with his political illiteracy,
made Panayiotou an outsider. It wasn't until one month before the election that his name started appearing in opinion polls, and even then, with single-digit voting intentions.
The sudden increase in Fidias' percentages was dubbed the "Fidias Phenomenon," highlighting how an independent candidate with no political experience could shake up the
Cypriot political system.
Fidias ran on an
anti-partisan and
anti-establishment
An anti-establishment view or belief is one which stands in opposition to the conventional social, political, and economic principles of a society. The term was first used in the modern sense in 1958 by the British magazine ''New Statesman'' ...
platform, accusing establishment politicians of neglecting society's best interests and failing to understand critical modern developments such as
AI and
Bitcoin
Bitcoin (abbreviation: BTC; Currency symbol, sign: ₿) is the first Decentralized application, decentralized cryptocurrency. Based on a free-market ideology, bitcoin was invented in 2008 when an unknown entity published a white paper under ...
. He emphasised
education
Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...
as a priority, aiming to enhance schools in both
Cyprus
Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...
and the
EU by eliminating exams and promoting
self-education. He also acknowledged the significance of adapting to the impact of
artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computer, computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making. It is a field of re ...
on future developments. Regarding the
Cyprus issue
The Cyprus problem, also known as the Cyprus conflict, Cyprus issue, Cyprus dispute, or Cyprus question, is an ongoing dispute between the Greek Cypriot and the Turkish Cypriot community in the north of the island of Cyprus, where troops of th ...
, Panagiotou leaned towards the "Bi-zonal, Bi-communal
Federation
A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a political union, union of partially federated state, self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a #Federal governments, federal government (federalism) ...
" solution while expressing a willingness to learn more about the complexities involved. Additionally, he advocated for a measured approach to migration, proposing that
asylum application
An asylum seeker is a person who leaves their country of residence, enters another country, and makes in that other country a formal application for the right of asylum according to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 14. A pers ...
s should be processed from applicants' home countries before their arrival in
Cyprus
Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...
.
Fidias' electoral success was attributed to his adept use of
social media
Social media are interactive technologies that facilitate the Content creation, creation, information exchange, sharing and news aggregator, aggregation of Content (media), content (such as ideas, interests, and other forms of expression) amongs ...
and the widespread dissatisfaction of the public with the current political system.
Without spending any money on
TV advertisements,
billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
s, or
Google ads
Google Ads, formerly known as Google Adwords, is an online advertising platform developed by Google, where advertisers bid to display brief advertisements, service offerings, product listings, and videos to web users. It can place ads in the res ...
, he crafted his image as the primary
anti-establishment
An anti-establishment view or belief is one which stands in opposition to the conventional social, political, and economic principles of a society. The term was first used in the modern sense in 1958 by the British magazine ''New Statesman'' ...
candidate purely through daily, non-sponsored
YouTube shorts
YouTube Shorts is the short-form section of the online video-sharing platform YouTube.
YouTube Shorts are vertical videos that have a duration of up to 180 seconds, and has various features for user interaction. Videos were limited to 60 ...
.
Some journalists described this as
Cyprus
Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...
entering an era of "metapolitics," where protest votes were able to elect an "apolitical," independent candidate.
The unprecedented result of 19.4% was just 2 percentage points lower than the
left-wing
Left-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social ...
AKEL,
a party with nearly 100 years of history that, along with
DISY, has dominated the Cypriot political system since the country's
independence
Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...
. The third-place finish of the independent candidate sent shockwaves through the Cypriot political system,
with the well-established
DIKO, traditionally the third-place party,
receiving 10 percentage points less than him.
Fidias also surpassed the
far-right
Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on the far end of the ...
ELAM
Elam () was an ancient civilization centered in the far west and southwest of Iran, stretching from the lowlands of what is now Khuzestan and Ilam Province as well as a small part of modern-day southern Iraq. The modern name ''Elam'' stems fr ...
, which had been anticipated to thrive due to the recent surge in
illegal migration.
Following his election as an MEP, Fidias announced plans to create a new
European political party
A European political party, formerly known as a political party at European levelArticle 10.4 of the 2007 Treaty on European Union states that "political parties at European level contribute to forming European political awareness" and Regul ...
with other like-minded MEPs. He also expressed interest in joining the Education Committee of the
EU and suggested the creation of a new Social Media and AI Committee.
Electoral system
Along with
Luxembourg
Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...
and
Malta
Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...
,
Cyprus
Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...
is the smallest constituency, electing 6
Members of the European Parliament
A member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament.
When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and Steel Comm ...
. The seats are distributed via
open list proportional representation
Open list describes any variant of party-list proportional representation where voters have at least some influence on the order in which a party's candidates are elected. This is as opposed to closed list, in which party lists are in a predeter ...
.
Parties that stood candidates
Election ballot
Opinion polling
Results
Elected MEPs
References
{{Cypriot elections
European Parliament election
Elections to the European Parliament take place every five years by universal adult suffrage; with more than 400 million people eligible to vote, they are the second largest democratic elections in the world after India's.
Until 2019, 751 ...
Cyprus
Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...
June 2024 in Cyprus
European Parliament elections in Cyprus
Opinion polling in Cyprus