Latest election poll shows Elam closing in on ‘big two’ parties

Elam are drawing closer to Cyprus’ historical “big two” parties, Disy and Akel, in polling ahead of May’s parliamentary election, according to a poll published on Thursday night.

The poll, published television channel Alpha, was conducted by Rai consultants, and asked 1,031 people which party they intend to vote for in May.

Disy and Akel remain out in front, with 14.3 per cent and 13.6 per cent of respondents choosing them respectively, but Elam, now consistently in third place across pre-election polling, is just 3.3 per cent behind Akel, on 10.3 per cent.

The fourth and fifth most popular parties were both created last year, with former auditor-general Odysseas Michaelides’ Alma sat on 6.6 per cent, and social media influencer and member of the European Parliament Fidias Panayiotou’s Direct Democracy party a little behind, on 6.3 per cent.

Diko, having finished in third place in every parliamentary election since it came second in 1985, and having never polled outside the top three since its founding in 1976, sits in a lowly sixth place according to Thursday’s poll, with just 4.9 per cent.

In seventh place is Volt, with the pan-European party set to be fighting its first parliamentary election in May. The party sits on 2.5 per cent.

None of the remaining parties listed in the poll, including government-supporting Dipa and Edek garnered more than one per cent of the vote.

Dipa sits on exactly one per cent of the vote, while Edek was the choice of 0.9 per cent of respondents, while the Hunters’ Movement sits on 0.8 per cent, the Ecologists’ Movement sits on 0.6 per cent, the Animal Party sits on 0.4 per cent, and Democratic Change, formed by lawyer Christos Clerides last year, sits on 0.1 per cent.

Additionally, 2.4 per cent said they intend to either spoil their ballot or leave it blank, 6.4 per cent said they will not vote, 21.9 per cent remain undecided, and 6.3 per cent refused to answer.

The next parliamentary election will take place on May 24, with a total of 56 seats up for election, including that of Dipa’s George Penintaex, who took his seat in parliament for the first time last month after Marinos Mousiouttas vacated his seat to become labour minister.

Of those 56 seats, 19 will belong to MPs from the Nicosia district, 12 to MPs from the Limassol district, 11 to MPs from the Famagusta district, six to MPs from the Larnaca district, five to MPs from the Paphos district, and three to MPs from the Kyrenia district.

The Paphos district gained an extra seat ahead of May’s election due to the growth in its voting population, with that gain coming at the Nicosia district’s expense.

The Republic of Cyprus’ constitution initially foresaw a parliament with 50 voting members, of whom 35 would be Greek Cypriots and 15 would be Turkish Cypriots, as well as non-voting observers belonging to the Armenian, Latin, and Maronite communities.

Following the breakdown of constitutional order and the outbreak of intercommunal violence in 1963, the Turkish Cypriots were unable to return to their seats in parliament, leaving just 35 voting members.

That figure was raised to 56 Greek Cypriots ahead of the 1985 parliamentary elections after the constitution was altered using the doctrine of necessity. The amendment foresees 24 Turkish Cypriots also being elected, but with the Cyprus problem remaining unsolved, this has not yet happened.