Parliamentary committee chair negotiations following Cyprus legislative elections

Following the recent legislative elections in Cyprus, political parties are negotiating the distribution of parliamentary committee chair positions. Under current parliamentary regulations, only parties with at least seven members—DISY (17), AKEL (15), ELAM (8), and DIKO (8)—are formally entitled to hold these positions. This regulation theoretically excludes smaller entities such as ALMA and the Direct Democracy movement. Historically, major parties have often waived these rules to grant committee chairs to smaller parties as a democratic gesture. Furthermore, there are ongoing discussions regarding the consolidation of committees, with proposals to merge the Legal Affairs and Human Rights committees, as well as the Institutions and Oversight committees. If approved, the total number of committees would decrease from 16 to 14. ELAM has additionally proposed merging the Agriculture and Environment committees, though AKEL has expressed opposition to such structural changes. Parties are expected to finalize these arrangements shortly after the election of the parliamentary speaker.