The final stretch of the race for the Speaker of Cyprus parliament

Political parties in the Republic of Cyprus have entered the final stretch of preparations for the vote to elect the Speaker of the House of Representatives (parliament), which will take place on Thursday, 4 June 2026, at the first plenary session of the new legislature. The upcoming vote will be held under the new rules for the first time: to win in the first round, a candidate needs an absolute majority — 29 votes out of 56 members of parliament (50% + 1). If no winner emerges, the two frontrunners will advance to a second round, where a simple majority will be enough for election, and in the event of a tie, a public draw is предусмотрена.

At present, DISY (Democratic Rally) has officially and unanimously nominated current Speaker and party leader Annita Demetriou. However, her victory in the first round is unlikely, as opposition forces represented by AKEL, ELAM and the Alma movement have already said they will not support her candidacy.

For its part, AKEL (Progressive Party of Working People) will make its final decision at a Politburo meeting on Tuesday, 2 June. The left is currently considering both the possibility of supporting DIKO leader Nicolas Papadopoulos (who held exploratory talks but has not yet officially announced his candidacy) and nominating its own leader, Stefanos Stefanou.

The situation is further complicated by the fact that the leader of the right-wing ELAM party (National Popular Front), Christos Christou, has officially announced his own candidacy and has categorically ruled out supporting Annita Demetriou. Meanwhile, the Alma movement led by Odysseas Michaelides has completely refused to support candidates from DISY, DIKO and ELAM in all rounds, while MPs from the Direct Democracy party intend to decide their position on the day of the vote itself.