Nicosia, Cyprus. Social media influencer Fidias Panayiotou will not take the seat in parliament he won in Sunday’s election and will instead serve out the remainder of his term as a member of the European Parliament.
Decision on parliamentary seat
He notified the interior ministry of his intention not to take the seat, which will go to neurophysiologist Yiannis Laouris, Direct Democracy Cyprus’ second most popular candidate after Panayiotou in the Nicosia district.
Election results
Direct Democracy Cyprus finished sixth on Sunday with 5.4 per cent of the vote, or 20,159 votes, and won four seats nationwide.
While the result was notable for a party contesting its first election, it was well below the level of support Panayiotou received in the 2024 European Parliament elections, when he won 71,330 votes, or 19.4 per cent, and finished behind only Disy and Akel.
European Parliament term
At that time, he became the first independent Cypriot candidate to win a seat in the European Parliament since Cyprus joined the European Union in 2004 and one of only five independent MEPs elected across Europe in 2024.
By foregoing his seat in Cyprus’ national parliament, Panayiotou will continue in Strasbourg until his current term ends in three years.
Next European Parliament elections
The next European Parliament elections will be held between June 7 and June 10, 2029, with Cyprus voting on June 10.
