Ruling party wins as largest parties shrink

The ruling conservative party in the Republic of Cyprus came on top following Sunday’s parliamentary elections, but DYSI along with leftist AKEL, the two mainstream parties, both saw many supporters choosing smaller tickets.

DYSI emerged victorious on Sunday after Cypriots went to the polls but the ruling party failed to get an absolute majority in parliamentary elections.

Cyprus' communist AKEL party also joined DYSI as the two held their position as the two largest parties on the island, but political pundits also pointed that some of their voters had turned to smaller parties, including nationalist right-wing ELAM which doubled its seats.

Seven parties will enter the new Parliament after DISY secured 27.77% or 99,332 votes while AKEL got 22.34% or 79,910 votes, with both parties losing supporters as smaller tickets also grabbed chunks of the mainstream vote.

DYSI officials said voters rejected populism attacks against the ruling party and the government, while AKEL said they were disappointed with the results after getting a very low showing of support at the polls.

Centrist DIKO party came third with 11.29% or 40,392 votes while ELAM got 6.78% or 24,255 votes. Socialist EDEK got 6.72% or 24,025 votes, DIPA democrats secured 6.10% or 21,834 votes and the Greens got 4.41% or 15,761 votes.

ELAM, the anti-migrant nationalist party that has been linked to Greece's outlawed Golden Dawn, almost doubled its showing, with party officials saying they were the clear winner in the election while also claiming they had received support from some AKEL voters.

President invites House party leaders to seek roadmap

President Nicos Anastasiades on Sunday pointed to a “sense of responsibility for country,” adding that he intended to convene a meeting with the leaders of the new House political parties to discuss a roadmap for joint actions.

Opponents have accused the government of helping the ruling party to minimize losses by introducing millions of funds in state aid just before the election.

But government spokesperson Kyriacos Koushos on Monday said the administration was pleased with the outcome, saying the election results were a direct response against populism.

A total of 366,608 out of 557,836 registered voters or 65.72% have voted, according to the final results, with abstention reaching 191,228 votes or 34.28%. Valid ballots were 357,714 (97.57%), invalid 6,824 (1.86%) and blank 2,070 (0.56%).