Cyprus House to vote on committee chairmanships with up to 16 positions available

Nicosia, Cyprus. The House plenum will vote on Thursday on the chairmanships of House committees, with up to 16 positions available. The vote will be preceded by a decision on whether the total number of committees will be 14, 15 or 16.

Committee number to be decided first

The initial vote will determine the total number of committees, following a proposal by Elam to reduce the number from 16 to 14. The proposal does not currently have sufficient support to move forward.

Chairmanship eligibility

To secure a committee chairmanship, a party must have at least seven MPs. The distribution of the chairmanships is most likely to be decided among the four largest parties: Disy, Akel, Diko and Elam.

Allocation based on election results

The number of chairmanships each party is eligible for will be based on the shares they received in the recent parliamentary elections.

Smaller parties also in focus

During the previous legislative period, chairmanships were also granted to smaller parties in the House, including the Ecologists’ Movement, which held the environment committee, and Edek, which held the defence committee. This time, Alma and Direct Democracy fall into that category.

Expected distribution

Akel and Disy are expected to receive the chairmanship of most committees, while Diko and Elam are likely to receive between two and three chairmanships each.