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NICOSIA – Cyprus’s far right appeared set for gains in Sunday’s election while an anti-corruption newcomer looked set to enter parliament, according to exit polls that showed weaker support for centrist parties backing President Nikos Christodoulides.
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Opinion polls released by TV networks when voting ended at 1500 GMT showed far-right ELAM, an offshoot of Greece’s banned Golden Dawn party, with 10-12.5% of the vote, up from 6.8% in the last legislative elections in 2021.
If the polling trend holds, it could become the third-largest party in the 56-seat parliament behind right-wing DISY and Communist AKEL parties.
While executive power rests with the presidency in Cyprus, the vote is widely seen as a gauge of political trends ahead of the 2028 presidential election and could flag the new alliances centrist Christodoulides may need to make if he wants to be re-elected.
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Three centrist parties backing Christodoulides – Diko, Dipa and EDEK – appeared headed for a weaker result, according to the projections.
Corruption and cost of living concerns were prominent in the campaign.
ELAM campaigned against migration and also holds a hard line in negotiations with Turkish Cypriots on the ethnically-split island. ALMA, a newly formed movement campaigning on accountability and political reform, was set to secure parliamentary representation for the first time.
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(Writing by Michele Kambas;Editing by Helen Popper and Christina Fincher)
Copyright Reuters or USA Today Network via Reuters Connect.
This story was originally published May 24, 2026 at 8:46 AM.