Cyprus’ six MEPs named following game-changing elections

The European elections results include a number of changes to the previous line-up for Cyprus’ Members of the European Parliament with ELAM winning a seat for the first time and YouTuber Fidias Panayiotou taking another of the six seats.

Panayiotou celebrated his win with a party in Eleftheria Square in Nicosia, where he commented, “We are writing history. Not just in Cyprus, but internationally.”

Panayiotou’s victory as MEP at the age of 24 without a political background, and having run as an independent, has been largely recognised as a “message” to the political party establishment.

Fidias Panayiotou

ELAM elected an MEP for the first time with Geadis Geadi.

Geadis Geadi

AKEL lost one of its seats, in a result that the party’s General Secretary Stefanos Stefanou described as “negative” and something that would require deep reflection on AKEL’s part. “We are not satisfied by this,” he added.

One of AKEL’s previous MEPs, Giorgos Georgiou, kept his seat but Niyazi Kızılyürek, the first Turkish Cypriot to hold the post and representing AKEL was not re-elected.

Giorgos Georgiou

DISY leader Annita Demetriou welcomed her party’s continuing to have two seats with Loucas Fourlas and former Health Minister Michalis Hadjipantelas. She described the result as a reflection of party unity.

Loucas Fourlas

Michalis Hadjipantelas

DIKO’s Costas Mavrides was re-elected for a third term as an MEP but the party’s head, Nicholas Papadopoulos, said that the overall results of the elections should be considered a warning sign for society.

Costas Mavrides

Based on the final results as published in the official elections website of the Republic of Cyprus, DISY crossed the finish line first with 24.8% or 91,316 votes, AKEL followed with 21.67% or 79,163 votes, Fidias Panayiotou received 19.4% or 71,330 votes, ELAM 11.2% or 41,215 votes and DIKO 9.7% or 35,815 votes.