Far-right Elam party inspired by Golden Dawn makes gains in Cyprus election

Strongly anti-Turkish party doubles its seats although mainstream parties did not see vote crumble as predicted An anti-immigrant far-right party, inspired by Greece’s defunct neo-Nazi Golden Dawn, made the biggest gains in Sunday’s parliamentary election in Cyprus. Elam, the Greek National People’s Front, which has pushed for the closure of checkpoints on the ethnically split island and is vociferously anti-Turkish, doubled its seats in the 56-member legislature after securing 10.9 % of the vote. “We can say that Elam is the sole winner of Sunday’s election, with a clear victory that gives it an increased say in passing legislation,” the island’s predominant electoral expert Christoforos Christoforou told the Guardian. “It fulfilled its strategic aim of doubling its seats from four to eight and becoming parliament’s third biggest force, displacing Diko [the centrist Democratic party], which had held that position for decades.” In results that will profoundly reshape the political landscape of the EU’s easternmost state, a new party of anti-corruption campaigners and social media influencers also won seats. By contrast, centrist groups, including the veteran leftwing EDEK, which ha