NICOSIA, May 24 (Xinhua) -- Cyprus' major political parties largely maintained their support in Sunday's parliamentary elections, while the National Popular Front (ELAM) emerged as the third-largest force in parliament after posting strong gains.
Official results showed that the Democratic Rally (DISY) remained the largest party, securing 27.2 percent of the vote and retaining its 17 seats in the 56-member House of Representatives. The Progressive Party of Working People (AKEL) also held onto all 15 of its seats, with its vote share rising to 23.9 percent from 22.34 percent in the previous election in 2021.
ELAM, previously linked to Greece's banned Golden Dawn movement, increased its support from 6.8 percent in 2021 to 10.9 percent, doubling its parliamentary representation from four seats to eight and overtaking the Democratic Party (DIKO), the largest member of the three-party coalition supporting President Nikos Christodoulides.
DIKO won 10 percent of the vote and retained eight of its nine seats. However, two other parties aligned with the president -- EDEK and the Democratic Front -- failed to enter the parliament.
Only six parties secured seats in the new parliament, compared with seven in the previous legislature. Two newcomers, Alma and Direct Democracy Cyprus, each won four seats.
The election outcome is not expected to threaten government stability, as Cyprus elects its president separately from parliament, according to the Cyprus Mail. However, analysts said the government could face greater difficulty in securing parliamentary backing for legislation. ■