Eleven women have won seats in Cyprus’ new House of Representatives, meaning just one in five MPs in the 56-member parliament will be female.
The result contrasts with the strong pre-election debate over the need for equal representation and shows that Cyprus’s political scene remains largely male-dominated, despite signs of progress and the election of new female candidates.
The women elected include both experienced parliamentary figures and new faces entering the legislature for the first time.
In Nicosia, the largest district, where 19 MPs are elected, three women won re-election: Savia Orphanidou of DISY, Christiana Erotokritou of DIKO and Irene Charalambides of ALMA.
In Limassol, which has 12 seats, three women were elected. Fotini Tsiridou was re-elected with DISY, while Marina Nicolaou was re-elected with AKEL. Argentoula Ioannou, also of AKEL, enters parliament for the first time.
In Famagusta, which has 11 seats, two women were elected from different political parties: Diana Lucia Constantinidou of Direct Democracy and Theoulitsa (Litsa) Drousiotou of ALMA.
In the occupied district of Kyrenia, female representation will come from Anastasia Hasikou, who was elected with AKEL.
In Larnaca, which has six seats, DISY president Annita Demetriou was re-elected, securing the seat without preference votes.
In Paphos, which has five seats, Nicoletta Constantinou won the election with DISY, becoming the first woman MP elected in the district.
Read more:
MP preference vote count completed across Cyprus districts (photos)
