Cyprus MEPs re-elected, two women get in, first socialist

Two members of the European parliament from Cyprus retained their seats, as two women were elected MEPs for the first time and the socialists finally got a seat.
The opposition Democratic Rally (DISY) received 109,209 votes or 35.65% and declared itself the outright winner of the elections, while the ruling communist AKEL got 106,922 or 34.90%, with both parties increasing their strength at the polls and winning two MEP seats each.
The centre-right Democratic Party (DIKO) lost votes and dropped to 37,625 or 12.28% with party insiders blaming their leadership as they barely won a seat, while the Movement of Social Democrats EDEK also fared poorly and received 30,169 or 9.85%, but still managed a seat, joining the dwindling European Socialists for the first time. The nationalist European Party got 12,630 or 4.12% and the Ecologists and Environmentalists Movement 4,602 or 1.5%.
Ioannis Kasoulides from DISY was re-elected with the biggest number of preference votes and returns to the European Popular Party bench, by far the winner of the elections among the 27 EU member states with 265 seats. Joining him will be House Health Committee chair Dr Eleni Theocharous, a political activist who collected the second best number of preference votes.
Cypriot voters could place up to two preference crosses per party list to elect the six MEPs allocated to Cyprus.
Takis Hadjigeorghiou of the ruling communist party Akel enjoyed the third highest number of preference crosses and won a seat, joining Kyriacos Triantafyllides who won a narrow challenge and retained his seat in Brussels, contributing two seats to the European Left.
The other two MEPs from Cyprus are House Finance Committee Chairman Antigoni Papadopoulou from DIKO and former Defense Minister Kyriakos Mavronikolas from socialist EDEK.
The results suggest that three seats will be vacated in the House of Representatives in Cyprus, to be replaced by their runners up from among their parties in the parliamentary elections three years ago. www.financialmirror.com