Voter survey split over dangers from Elam, sees need for new parties

A total of 43 per cent of Cypriots believe the rise of Elam is “dangerous for democracy” while 58 per cent said there was a need for new parties, according to a survey conducted by consultancy group Cypronetwork.

Sixty-three per cent of respondents, meanwhile, viewed the recent election of social media influencer Fidias Panayiotou as MEP as positive.

The survey, conducted among 1,000 respondents between July 2 and July 29, also found that 40 per cent said Elam’s rise is not dangerous for democracy, while the remaining 17 per cent did not express an opinion either way.

Its results come after Elam recorded the best electoral result in its history at June’s European parliament elections, winning a total of 41,215 votes – 11.2 per cent of the total votes cast – and having a candidate, Geadis Geadi, elected to the European parliament for the first time.

Fears over Elam’s rise were particularly prevalent among survey respondents in the Paphos district, where 73 per cent of people said the party’s rise is dangerous for democracy, while just 20 per cent of respondents in the Larnaca district expressed the same opinion.

In the Famagusta, Limassol, and Nicosia districts, 50, 54, and 37 per cent of respondents respectively said Elam’s rise threatened democracy.

Founded in 2008, Elam has been frequently described as “far-right”, “ultranationalist”, and “neo-fascist”. In previous years, it had close ties to Greece’s Golden Dawn, even describing it as a “brother movement”.

Ties between Elam and Golden Dawn were officially cut in 2020, and Golden Dawn was declared a criminal organisation later that same year following the conclusion of investigations into the murder of left-wing Greek rapper Pavlos Fyssas.

In addition to the matter of Elam, the survey also asked respondents three questions about newly elected MEP Panayiotou.

A total of 63 per cent of respondents said they believe Panayiotou’s election is a “positive”, while 29 per cent said the opposite, while 48 per cent said they believe he will “succeed” and 35 per cent said they believe he will not.

At the same time, 70 per cent of people said they believe votes for Panayiotou were “clearly protest votes”, while 20 per cent disagreed.

With this in mind, 39 per cent of respondents said that at the next election, they would vote for “anything but the traditional parties”, while 39 per cent said they would not.

In addition, only 30 per cent of respondents said they would vote for the “traditional parties” for which they voted in the past at the next parliamentary elections, while 47 per cent said they would not.

Meanwhile, 58 per cent said there is “a need for new parties or movements on the political scene”, while 27 per cent said there is no such need.

Cyprus will next go to the polls in May 2026, when parliamentary elections will be held.