RULING right-wing party Disy won Sunday’s general election in Cyprus, with a 3.7 per cent dip in its share of the vote to 30.7 per cent, the Interior Ministry reported yesterday.
But the biggest loser was the second-placed communist Progressive Party of Working People (Akel), which took 25.7 per cent, 7.1 per cent less than in 2011.
The far-right National Popular Front (Elam) party will be represented in parliament for the first time, claiming 3.7 per cent of the votes, just over the 3.6 per cent threshold.
Akel leader Andros Kyprianou said that the party would convene shortly to evaluate the results, recognising that he is at the party’s disposal and not “bound to my chair.”
“Akel voters and the people of Cyprus in general have clearly sent us a message,” he said.
“The Akel voters have not moved to other parties. What has greatly affected the electoral result of Akel is the very high percentage of abstention,” Mr Kyprianou suggested.