As Cyprus’s new parliament gathers, a significant enforcement of existing rules regarding committee chairmanships looms, potentially altering the political landscape. Only parties commanding at least 12% of parliamentary seats, or seven seats, qualify to claim a chairmanship. Out of all parties, DISY (17 seats), AKEL (15 seats), ELAM, and DIKO (both with eight seats) meet the threshold, excluding smaller parties like ALMA and Direct Democracy Cyprus, each with only four seats. The adherence to these rules marks a departure from past practices where even parties below the seven-seat threshold, such as EDEK, DIPA, and the Ecologists, held chairmanships.

This tightening of regulations may particularly impact DISY which needs to appoint new chairs for several key committees, including Foreign Affairs and Energy, after changes in their respective leadership. Conversely, AKEL seems poised for stability with most of its chairs re-elected. ELAM, previously excluded despite meeting the seat requirement, is now set to push for representation. The realigning of chairmanships underscores a stricter interpretation of the parliamentary rules and signals a shift towards more formalized governance structures in the Cyprus parliament.