Former European commissioner Androulla Vassiliou on Tuesday accused social media influencer Fidias Panayiotou of dishonesty after he decided not to take the seat in parliament to which he had been elected on Sunday.

“I consider it dishonest towards those who voted for him, personally,” she said of the decision, with Panayiotou instead choosing to serve out the remainder of his term as a member of the European Parliament.

His seat has as such been bequeathed to neurophysiologist Yiannis Laouris, who was declared an MP alongside Panayiotou’s party Direct Democracy Cyprus’ other three MPs – Demetris Baros, Diana Constantinide and Demetris Souglis – at the official ceremony at the Nicosia municipal theatre on Monday.

Direct Democracy Cyprus finished in sixth place on Sunday, taking 5.4 per cent of the vote – 20,159 votes – and winning four seats nationwide.

That result, while respectable for a party fighting its first election, fell considerably short of the political earthquake Panayiotou had caused at the 2024 European Parliament elections, when he won 71,330 votes – 19.4 per cent – and placed behind only Disy and Akel.

He was the first independent Cypriot candidate to win a seat in the European Parliament in Cyprus since the country joined the European Union in 2004, and one of only five independents among the 720 MEPs elected across the continent in 2024.