The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has ruled that Cyprus violated the right to free elections by failing to address a legislative gap that left a parliamentary seat vacant after the May 2016 elections, the legal service announced on Wednesday.

The dispute began when Eleni Theocharous, elected MP for the Solidarity Movement in Limassol, chose to retain her seat in the European Parliament instead of taking up her national parliament seat. The next candidate, Giorgos Papadopoulos, was declared MP, but his election was repeatedly annulled by the supreme court due to unclear laws on filling vacant seats before the parliamentary term begins.

Attempts in 2017 and 2019 to amend the electoral law and constitution to confirm Papadopoulos’ seat were declared unconstitutional by the court, leaving the seat unfilled and voters’ will unfulfilled.

Papadopoulos appealed to the ECtHR, which ruled in his favour on 16 September 2025, with the ruling announced on 9 October 2025. The court found that Cyprus’ failure to resolve the legislative gap trapped both the candidate and voters in legal limbo and ordered Cyprus to pay the appellant €8,000 in compensation for non-pecuniary damages.