After hours of negotiations and in the absence of consensus, the House Selection Committee has decided to retain the 16 parliamentary committees and agreed on how their chairmanships will be distributed among the parties.
The decision, taken by majority, ends earlier discussions on reducing the number of committees and redistributing key positions. It has, however, triggered strong political reactions, mainly over the decision to assign the House Defence Committee to ELAM.
Under the agreed allocation, DISY and AKEL will each chair five committees, while ELAM and DIKO will take three each.
Specifically, DISY will head the committees on Foreign Affairs, Commerce, Health, Legal Affairs and Institutions. AKEL will chair the committees on Interior, Labour, Agriculture, Refugees, and Human Rights. ELAM will assume the Defence, Environment and Transport committees, which had remained vacant following the departure of other parties from parliament. DIKO will retain the committees on Finance, Education and Audit.
The decisions are expected to be formally ratified next week, when the Selection Committee finalises the individuals for each chairmanship and the plenary is called to approve the overall composition.
Strong reactions
Despite the outcome, reactions from parties were intense.
DISY parliamentary spokesperson Dimitris Dimitriou said the party had entered talks in a cooperative spirit and made efforts to reach a consensus until the last moment. He noted that DISY had accepted not pursuing additional chairmanships beyond those allocated, as part of a broader political understanding.
However, he expressed concern over the Defence Committee going to ELAM, saying the party had tried to prevent such an outcome.
AKEL was particularly critical. Its parliamentary spokesperson Giorgos Loukaides said that for the first time it had not been possible to reach agreement through consensus, attributing responsibility to positions taken during negotiations.
He also voiced strong opposition to ELAM taking over the Defence Committee, warning that it sends the wrong political signals and could have negative consequences both for the Cyprus issue and the country’s image abroad. Similar reservations were expressed regarding ELAM’s leadership of the Environment Committee.
ELAM, for its part, reacted in a more subdued manner. MP Linos Papayiannis said the party does not view the three chairmanships as a cause for celebration but as a responsibility towards citizens.
He added that ELAM is ready to take on its role and be judged by its performance in the committees it will lead.
From DIKO, parliamentary spokesperson Panikos Leonidou expressed satisfaction with the outcome, noting that the party retained the same chairmanships it held in the previous parliamentary term.
He stressed that cooperation among parties was necessary and that what ultimately matters is the legislative work produced, rather than the distribution of positions.
Responding to criticism over the Defence Committee, he said that decisions within committees are taken collectively by their members, not unilaterally by the chair, adding that existing institutional safeguards ensure their proper functioning.
