Cyprus parliamentary elections result in decline of female representation

Following the 2026 parliamentary elections in Cyprus, only 11 women were elected to the 56-seat House of Representatives, representing 19.6% of the body. This marks a decrease from the 14 women elected in 2021, which accounted for 25% of seats. In Nicosia, Savia Orphanidou (DISY), Christiana Erotokritou (DIKO), and Eirini Charalambidou (ALMA) were re-elected. In Limassol, Fotini Tsiridou (DISY) and Marina Nikolaou (AKEL) were re-elected, alongside newcomer Argentoula Ioannou (AKEL). The Famagusta district elected Diana Lucia Constantinidou (Direct Democracy) and Theoulitsa Drousiotou (ALMA), while Anastasia Chasikou (AKEL) was elected for the district of Kyrenia. Notably, the party ELAM secured eight seats without electing any women, while ALMA achieved a balanced representation with two women among its four deputies. DISY secured four female deputies out of its 17 total seats. These results indicate that despite public discourse on gender parity, the political landscape remains predominantly male-dominated.