The initial meeting of party leaders and representatives concluded on Tuesday with the cross-party framework for the Selection Committee officially established. The lineup is set to be formally elected by the House plenum during its upcoming session on Thursday.
Prior to the plenary session, party leaders will reconvene for a final briefing. Immediately following the conclusion of parliamentary business, the newly elected Selection Committee will hold its first meeting to determine the exact composition and chairmanships of all parliamentary standing committees.
House President Annita Demetriou will chair the Selection Committee ex officio. According to sources, the Democratic Rally (DISY) will secure three seats, allocated to Savia Orphanidou, Demetrius Demetriou, and Georgios Karoullas. The Progressive Party of Working People (AKEL) will also hold three seats, to be filled by Stefanos Stefanou, Giorgos Loucaides, and Aristos Damianou.
The remaining slots will be distributed among the smaller political groups. The Democratic Party (DIKO) will be represented by one MP, with Panicos Leonidou considered the most likely candidate. The National Popular Front (ELAM) will also claim one seat, which will be occupied by either Sotiris Ioannou or Linos Papagiannis.
Tuesday's preparatory meeting brought together key representatives under the chairmanship of Demetriou. Attendees included DISY parliamentary spokesperson Demetrius Demetriou, AKEL parliamentary spokesperson Giorgos Loucaides, and MP Aristos Damianou. ELAM was represented by MPs Linos Papagiannis and Sotiris Ioannou, while DIKO was represented by party leader Nicolas Papadopoulos and parliamentary spokesperson Panicos Leonidou. Irene Charalambides attended on behalf of the Alma Citizens for Cyprus movement, and Vice President Diana Constantinidi represented Direct Democracy.
Discussions during the meeting also touched upon a broader restructuring of the parliamentary apparatus. Lawmakers examined a proposal to reduce the total number of permanent standing committees from the current 16 to a smaller figure. This followed a specific submission by ELAM to limit the total number of working committees to 14.
However, the proposal failed to gather the necessary parliamentary majority required to advance. Sources indicated that the highly anticipated issue of committee chairmanships was entirely bypassed during Tuesday's talks and has been deferred to the incoming Selection Committee when it meets on Thursday.
