Far-right Elam party inspired by Golden Dawn makes big gains in Cyprus elections

Elam, an anti-immigrant far-right party inspired by Greece’s Golden Dawn, made major gains in Cyprus’ parliamentary elections. The party doubled its seats from four to eight after winning 10.9% of the vote, becoming the third-largest force in the 56-member legislature and displacing Diko. Elam advocates closing checkpoints on the ethnically divided island and is strongly anti-Turkish. A new anti-corruption party, Alma, and a direct democracy group linked to social media influencer Phidias Panayiotou also won seats for the first time. Centrist and establishment parties largely held their ground, while EDEK failed to cross the threshold, marking a historic defeat. Disy and Akel won 27.2% and 23.8% respectively, with Disy showing a small decline.

"An anti-immigrant far-right party, inspired by Greece's defunct neo-Nazi Golden Dawn, has made the biggest gains in parliamentary elections in Cyprus. The group, which has pushed for the closure of checkpoints on the ethnically split island and is vociferously anti-Turkish, doubled its seats in the 56-member legislature after securing 10.9 % of the vote."

"We can say that Elam is the sole winner of Sunday's election, with a clear victory that gives it an increased say in passing legislation, the island's predominant electoral expert Christoforos Christoforou told the Guardian. It fulfilled its strategic aim of doubling its seats from four to eight and becoming parliament's third biggest force, displacing Diko, which had held that position for decades."

"In results that will profoundly reshape the political landscape of the EU's easternmost state, a new party of anti-corruption campaigners and social media influencers also won seats. By contrast, centrist groups, including the veteran leftwing EDEK, which had endorsed the candidacy of the president, Nikos Christodoulides, as an independent in 2023, failed to cross the threshold to enter the house, a historic defeat that could further enhance the influence of Elam."

"Ahead of the poll, mainstream parties were predicted to be hammered by the anti-systemic protest groups that have appeared amid disillusionment with traditional party politics and an elite tainted by scandal. But while the newly formed anti-corruption Alma and the Direct Democracy Cyprus group of MEP and former YouTuber Phidias Panayiotou made it into parliament for the first time, the establishment parties defied the projections and held their ground."

Read at www.theguardian.com