Cyprus re-elects parliamentary speaker

NICOSIA, June 4 – Lawmakers in Cyprus re-elected Annita Demetriou as speaker of parliament on Thursday in a vote seen as an early glimpse of emerging partnerships ahead of a presidential election in 2028.

Cyprus has a presidential system of government, but alliances in parliament are a gauge of voting trends.

Demetriou, who heads the right-wing Democratic Rally party, was elected with votes from her party as well as the Democratic Party, a centrist group supporting incumbent President Nikos Christodoulides, and Direct Democracy, a grassroots grouping founded by a social media personality.

Two of the political parties supporting Christodoulides’s administration, the socialist EDEK and centrist Dipa, failed to win seats in a parliamentary election on May 24. The Democratic Party is the only party currently supporting Christodoulides now represented in parliament. REUTERS