Nicosia: For the first time in the history of the Cypriot House of Representatives, 11 women have taken seats following Sunday's elections, marking a slight increase from the previous composition, where only eight women were elected. Despite this progress, women's representation remains below 20% of the total seats in the Cypriot Parliament.
According to Cyprus News Agency, the 2026 elections saw 11 women and 45 men elected, compared to the 2021 elections, which resulted in eight women and 48 men. A similar number of women were elected in 2016, but only ten assumed their positions due to Eleni Theocharous' decision not to accept her seat. Of the eight women seeking re-election, six succeeded in retaining their seats, while five newcomers are entering the parliament.
Annita Demetriou, Savvia Orphanidou, and Fotini Tsiridou were re-elected from the Democratic Rally (DISY), Marina Nikolaou from AKEL, Christiana Erotokritou from the Democratic Party (DIKO), and Irini Charalambidou, formerly of AKEL and now with the Alma party, have also secured their positions. The five newcomers are Nikoletta Constantinou from DISY, the first woman elected from the Paphos district, Argentoula Ioannou and Anastasia Hasikou from AKEL, Theodoulitsa Drousiotou from Alma, and Diana Constantinidis from Direct Democracy.
The party composition in terms of gender reflects ongoing disparities. DISY maintains its composition with four women and 13 men, AKEL increased its female representation to three women and 12 men, and DIKO has one woman and seven men. ELAM, which did not elect any women, increased its male MPs from three to eight. Newly represented parties, Alma and Direct Democracy, have also contributed to the gender composition with Alma electing two women and two men, and Direct Democracy electing one woman and three men.
Women MPs who did not secure re-election include Rita Superman from DISY, whose seat was taken by Demos Georgiadis, and Alexandra Attalidou, who ran as a Volt candidate in Nicosia. The elections saw a total of 753 candidates, with women comprising 29.7% of the candidacies, up from 24.31% in 2021.
New male MPs include individuals from various parties, such as Giorgos Pamborides and Andreas Konstantinou from DISY, and Ephrem Christou and Konstantinos Konstantinou from AKEL, among others. Re-elected male MPs include Demitris Demetriou from DISY and Stefanos Stefanou from AKEL, to name a few. Representatives of religious groups include Antonella Lydia Mantovani, Vartkes Mahdessian, and Petros Nacouzis.