Cypriot legislative election, 2016

Cypriot legislative election, 2016

← 2011 22 May 2016
56 of 80 seats in the House of Representatives
First party Second party Third party   Leader Averof Neophytou Andros Kyprianou Nikolas Papadopoulos Party DISY AKEL DIKO Leader since 2013 2009 2013 Last election 20 seats, 34.3% 19 seats, 32.7% 9 seats, 15.8% Seats won 18 16 9 Seat change 2 3 0 Popular vote 107,824 90,206 50,924 Percentage 30.7% 25.7% 14.5% Swing 3.7% 7.1% 1.3%   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Leader Marinos Sizopoulos Giorgos Lillikas Eleni Theocharous Party EDEK SYPOL Solidarity Leader since 2015 2013 2016 Last election 5 seats, 8.9% Did not stand Did not stand Seats won 3 3 3 Seat change 2 3 1 Popular vote 21,730 21,109 18,424 Percentage 6.2% 6.0% 5.2% Swing 2.8% 6.0% 5.2%   Seventh party Eighth party   Leader George Perdikes Christos Christou Party Greens ELAM Leader since 2011 2008 Last election 1 seat, 2.2% 0 seats, 1.08% Seats won 2 2 Seat change 1 2 Popular vote 16,915 13,041 Percentage 4.8% 3.7% Swing 2.6% 2.6%
Map of the Election By District.

Parliamentary elections were held in Cyprus on 22 May 2016 to elect 56 of the 80 Members of the House of Representatives.

The Republic of Cyprus is a unitary republic with a presidential system of government. The President of Cyprus, directly elected in the middle of the legislative term, is both head of state and head of government, presiding over the executive Council of Ministers. The multi-member proportional elections to the House of Representatives however accommodate a multi-party system, where the elected president's party usually joins forces with smaller parties to form a joint coalition government that usually adapts to parliamentary shifts after legislative elections.

The 80 seats in the House of Representatives are elected from six multi-member constituencies, with the number of seats allocated according to the population of each area. Of the 80 seats, 56 are elected by Greek Cypriots and 24 by Turkish Cypriots. However, due to the partition of the island in 1974, the 24 Turkish Cypriot seats are unfilled and the House of Representatives has de facto had 56 seats since its enlargement in the 1980s.

The elections are held using open list proportional representation, with seats allocated using the Hare quota. Any remaining seats are allocated to lists that won at least one seat or parties that received at least 3.6% of the vote. In the open list system, voters first select the list they want to vote for, and then select a number of candidates equal to a quarter of the number of seats in the constituency. The first candidate on the list is not required to receive preferential votes to be elected. Voting is mandatory, and anyone who fails to vote can be fined or imprisoned.