Fidias Panayiotou retains European Parliament seat

Cypriot social media influencer Fidias Panayiotou announced Monday that he will retain his seat in the European Parliament, despite having also won a seat in Cyprus’s House of Representatives in the country’s parliamentary election the previous day. Speaking to reporters before a proclamation ceremony, Panayiotou, who goes by his first name, said he would stay in the European Parliament because it would be beneficial for his Direct Democracy party to have a representative there. He described the election result as a small victory, adding that his party could have done better but was pleased with the outcome.

Panayiotou, 26, founded the Direct Democracy party only six months ago. He has said the party aims to challenge the established political order in Cyprus and abroad by allowing ordinary citizens to help formulate party policy and to declare themselves as candidates through an online application. In Sunday’s parliamentary election, the party received 5.4 percent of the total vote, securing four seats in the 56 member House. Panayiotou, who earned the most votes among his party’s candidates, ceded his seat to the runner up, Yiannis Laouris.

Despite this success, the result...