Slight rise for far-right Elam

Far-right party Elam candidate Christos Christou and his party have seen an uptick in the 2023 presidential elections in comparison to 2018, official results showed on Sunday’s first round.

In 2018’s presidential race, the party came in fourth place just like 2023, but Christou only managed to secure 5.65 per cent of the vote, while this year he got 6.03 per cent of the vote.

The results published for this year showed that most of Christou’s support came from the Famagusta district, where he took 10.94 per cent of the vote.

Next in line was Larnaca district, where he received 7.28 per cent of the vote.

“We are the fourth biggest political power in Cyprus,” Christou said after the elections on Sunday night.

He said that they will meet to discuss which candidate they might support or what stance they will hold in the second round of elections.

According to Christou, they will be sending the candidates a questionnaire to answer, and based on their stance they will choose.

The party, which had originally been associated with Greece’s now outlawed extreme right party Golden Dawn, has seen an overall rise in its presence in Cyprus.

In the most recent parliamentary elections in 2021, the party managed to take 6.78 per cent, which secured them four seats originally.

The party has a clear anti-migration rhetoric, as per an interview given to Cyprus Mail ahead of the elections.

Christou said: “Three of the many measures that must be implemented are ending the benefits policy that turns Cyprus into an attractive destination and providing only the essentials, such as clothing, housing and food. Suspension of asylum procedures and mass deportations of those in Cyprus illegally. All this must be under the authority of a junior ministry of immigration that must be set up, as we have been calling for since 2018!”