Anastasia Anthousi withdraws electoral court challenge in Cyprus

Former DISY parliamentary candidate Anastasia Anthousi officially withdrew her legal challenge before the Electoral Court on Wednesday, September 16, 2026. The case concerned the results of the 2026 parliamentary elections in the Nicosia district, specifically targeting a disputed ballot box in Nikitari. Anthousi had alleged that an error involving the miscounting of five votes between EDEK and ELAM had significantly altered the distribution of parliamentary seats across four districts, ultimately preventing her from being elected.

In her statement, Anthousi explained that she withdrew the petition because she had not received convincing answers regarding the 'error' from state authorities. She maintained that a recount of the specific ballot box was the only reliable method to verify the incident, which she noted was corrected only after election officials had left the site. The Electoral Court formally approved her request to withdraw, effectively ending the judicial process.

The Ministry of the Interior issued a rebuttal, clarifying that the initial counting results were unofficial and subject to verification. The Ministry stated that the correction was a standard administrative adjustment noted in official records once the error was identified. Officials emphasized that re-counts are strictly under the jurisdiction of the Electoral Court and rejected claims of lack of transparency.