2016 Cypriot legislative election
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56 of 80 seats in the House of Representatives | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/18/CypElec2016.png/250px-CypElec2016.png)
Parliamentary elections were held in Cyprus on 22 May 2016 to elect 56 of the 80 Members of the House of Representatives.
Political system
The
Electoral system
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.[1] 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.[2] 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.[3]
Background
2011
The
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
2014
Roughly a year into the presidency of
2016
Mere months before the 2016 legislative election, ex-DISY
Parties and leaders
Party | Ideology | Leader | |
---|---|---|---|
Democratic Rally (DISY) | Liberal conservatism, Christian democracy | Averof Neophytou
| |
Progressive Party of Working People (AKEL) | 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
Opinion polls
![]() | ||||||||||||
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 | 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 | 6.5 | 4.4 | 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
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
Movement for Social Democracy 21,732 | 6.18 | 3 | –2 | | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Citizens' Alliance | 21,114 | 6.01 | 3 | New | |||||
Solidarity Movement | 18,424 | 5.24 | 3 | New | |||||
Movement of Ecologists – Citizens' Cooperation | 16,909 | 4.81 | 2 | +1 | |||||
National Popular Front | 13,041 | 3.71 | 2 | +2 | |||||
Animal Party Cyprus | 4,088 | 1.16 | 0 | New | |||||
People's Breath | 3,072 | 0.87 | 0 | New | |||||
Flag Social Movement | 2,033 | 0.58 | 0 | New | |||||
Union of Fighters for Justice | 983 | 0.28 | 0 | New | |||||
Independents | 1,041 | 0.30 | 0 | 0 | |||||
Total | 351,389 | 100.00 | 56 | 0 | |||||
Valid votes | 351,389 | 96.92 | |||||||
Invalid/blank votes | 11,153 | 3.08 | |||||||
Total votes | 362,542 | 100.00 | |||||||
Registered voters/turnout | 543,186 | 66.74 | |||||||
Source: Ministry of Interior |
By district
Constituency |
DISY
|
AKEL | DIKO | EDEK
|
Citizens' Alliance | Solidarity Movement | Greens
|
ELAM | Others | T/o | ||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
# | % | S | # | % | S | # | % | S | # | % | S | # | % | S | # | % | S | # | % | S | # | % | S | # | % | S | ||
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.[11][12]
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".[13] 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".[14][12]
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."[15]
References
- ^ "Electoral threshold at 3.6%". InCyprus. Archived from the original on 2 May 2016. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
- ^ Electoral system IPU
- ^ "Government abolishes compulsory voting". Cyprus Mail. 3 May 2017. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
- ^ Michele Kambas (14 May 2012). "Cyprus president says will not seek re-election". Reuters. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
- ^ "DIKO decides to leave Cyprus government coalition". Archived from the original on 7 January 2017. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 March 2016. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Theocharous unveils Solidarity platform to 'save Republic'". Cyprus Mail. 15 January 2016. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
- ^ "EVROKO to merge with Theocharous' Solidarity movement (Update)". Cyprus Mail. 11 March 2016. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
- ^ Angelos Anastasiou (19 May 2016). "Election campaign heats up on economy issues". Cyprus Mail. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
- ^ "First exit polls indicate an eight-party House". Cyprus Mail. 22 May 2016. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
- ^ "Cyprus parliamentary vote puts far-right in parliament". Reuters. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
- ^ a b Hazou, Elias (23 May 2016). "Election outcome doesn't bode well for settlement, political observer says". Cyprus Mail. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
- ^ "Cyprus's Anastasiades Sees Support Cut in Parliamentary Vote". Bloomberg. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
- ^ "KISA calls on parties to counter ELAM". Cyprus Weekly. Archived from the original on 24 May 2016. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
- Xinhua. 23 May 2016. Archived from the originalon 24 May 2016. Retrieved 24 May 2016.