In November 2002, the UN Secretary General submitted a plan for the solution of the Cyprus problem, named the Annan Plan. The parties’ planning for the February 2003 presidential election was suspended or even overturned, while the issue of a Cyprus settlement dominated the election campaign, which was rather brief. Glafkos Clerides asked people to grant him a ‘short term in office to settle the Cyprus Problem’. In addition to Tassos Papadopoulos, who was supported by DIKO, AKEL, EDEK and the Environmentalists, and Nicos Koutsou of the New Horizons, Clerides’ Attorney General, Alekos Markides, backed by some top DISY officials, contested the election. Clerides secured 38.8% of the vote, which was not enough to prevent Tassos Papadopoulos from being elected in the first round, with 51.1%.
In April 2004, referendums were held on the Annan Plan, in its 5th and final version. Turkish Cypriots approved the Plan with 65%, while Greek Cypriots followed the positions of DIKO, AKEL, EDEK, the Ecologists-Environmentalists and the New Horizons, and overwhelmingly rejected it, with 76%. The Plan was also opposed by key DISY MPs and officials, who distanced themselves from the party leadership’s positions.
DISY won the first place in the elections for Cyprus’ seats to the European Parliament, on June 13, 2004. It secured 28.2% and two seats despite a multiple split it suffered by internal disputes over the referendum. Next came AKEL with 27.9% and two seats, followed by DIKO – 17.1% and one seat. The sixth seat was won by a mere 37 votes by a precarious formation, For Europe, overtaking EDEK. The scheme consisted of DISY cadres and others opposed to the Annan plan.
In the May 2006 parliamentary elections, DIKO recovered part of its losses with 17.9% and EDEK by 8.9%. The new formation EVROKO, created by New Horizons and DISY cadres was a winner. It got 5.6% and four seats in the House, while Environmentalists retained 2% and one seat. The losses for the two major parties were lower than what was expected given the internal problems they faced during the referendum. AKEL received 31.1% and DISY 30.3%, despite the fact that three more parties had been created from among its ranks.
The February 2008 Presidential elections opposed the incumbent President Tassos Papadopoulos and his former ally Demetris Christofias, AKEL’s Secretary General. They had split following the party’s departure from the coalition in July 2007. The election was very close to call, with Tassos Papadopoulos, who was shown ahead in all polls, failing to make it to the second round. Demetris Christofias, supported by DIKO, won the election with 53.8% against DISY candidate Ioannis Kasoulides.
In the May 2009 elections to the European Parliament, DISY (35.7%) and AKEL (34.9%) won two seats each, while DIKO (12.3%) and EDEK (9.9%) respectively won one seat each.
The 2011 parliamentary elections mark a turning point in abstention rates, with a sharp increase, a trend that had been evident since 2006. From 11%, the abstention rate almost doubled to 21.3%. The two major parties increased their share, with DISY jumping to 34.3% and AKEL at 32.7%, EDEK remained at 8.9%, while DIKO and EVROKO lost two points each, securing 15.7% and 3.9% respectively. A slight increase was achieved by the Ecologists, who won 2.2% and kept their seat.
Demetris Christofias ended his presidency in February 2013, as the first president not to seek re-election to the supreme office of the Republic. AKEL supported the candidacy of Stavros Malas, who was facing Giorgos Lillikas, an EDEK candidate with support from some DIKO cadres, and Nicos Anastasiades, candidate of DISY supported by DIKO. DISY’s president won in the second round of the presidential election against the candidate of AKEL Stavros Malas, with 57.5%.
In the 2014 European elections, the abstention continued to rise sharply, a trend that continued from previous respective contests. For the first time it reached 56%, while party influence dynamics also changed. DISY secured 37.8%, AKEL followed 11 points behind, with 27%, DIKO was also down to 10.8% and the alliance EDEK-Ecologists secured only 7.7%. The newly formed Citizens’ Alliance of Giorgos Lillikas, marked a notable success, with 6.8% of the vote. A new element in the European elections was the participation of Turkish Cypriots residing in the occupied areas of Cyprus. Their turnout at the polls was, however, poor.
The balance of party influence was also upset to some extent in the 2016 parliamentary elections, when eight parties entered the House. An increase of the electoral threshold from 1.8% to 3.6%, on a proposal put forward by DISY and supported by AKEL sought to exclude from the parliament smaller parties. The attempt failed and produced unexpected results, It appears that this provoked a backlash, with large numbers of voters reacting to the introduction of a higher threshold, and many shifting their vote towards small parties. Among the parties favoured by this was the far-right ELAM, which won two seats. The four major parties suffered significant losses of votes and influence. DISY secured the first place with 30.7%, followed by AKEL with 25.7%, DIKO with 14.5%, EDEK with 6.2%, Citizens’ Alliance with 6%, Solidarity with 5.2%, Ecologists with 4.8% and ELAM with 3.7%.
President Nicos Anastasiades sought a second presidential term in the 2018 election, facing for a second time Stavros Malas, AKEL’s candidate, and Giorgos Lillikas of the Citizens’ Alliance. A new face in the presidential race, DIKO President Nicholas Papadopoulos, was supported by EDEK, Solidarity and the Ecologists. Papadopoulos won 25.7% and failed to qualify to the second round. Nicos Anastasiades topped the first round with 35.5% and defeated Stavros Malas with 56%, winning his re-election. For the first time, parties that saw their candidates fail in the first round avoided supporting one of the two second-round candidates. A significant increase in the abstention rate was also noted, reaching 28%, the highest ever in presidential elections.
In the May 2019 elections for the representatives of the Republic of Cyprus to the European Parliament, there was a significant loss of votes for DISY, which slipped down to 29%, followed by AKEL with 27.5%, DIKO with 13.8%. and EDEK with 10.6%. DISY and AKEL won two seats each, with one each for DIKO and EDEK. The National People’s Front – ELAM, which polls predicted winning its entry into the European Parliament, increased its share to 8.25%, but was overtaken by EDEK (which kept its seat), while the Ecologists cooperation with the Citizens’ Alliance received only 3.3%. The newly formed DIPA, dissidents from DIKO, won 3.8%, while the Yasemi Movement with exclusively Turkish Cypriot candidates got 1.7%. For the first time, a Turkish Cypriot citizen of the Republic, Niyazi Kizilyurek, won an elected office, with the ticket of AKEL.