Filenews 9 December 2025
The overall assessment of parliamentary work by citizens remains negative, according to a quantitative survey by IMR/University of Nicosia presented at an event of the Oxygen for Democracy initiative. 59% of the participants expressed dissatisfaction with the operation of the Parliament, while only 6% expressed a positive opinion. The findings highlight the low public trust in institutions and the ongoing demand for greater transparency and efficiency.
The results of this survey were presented at an event on the "Evaluation Index of Members of Parliament", which took place on Monday, December 8, 2025, at the ARTos Cultural & Research Foundation.
According to an announcement by the organization, the initiative of Oxygen for Democracy, in collaboration with the Center for Socio-Political Studies POLITEIA, marked an important step towards strengthening participatory democracy and creating a scientifically documented tool for evaluating parliamentary work.
As mentioned, in her greeting, the President of the POLITEIA Center, Anna Koukkidi-Prokopiou, underlined that democracy cannot function without institutional accountability, adding that a tool such as the Parliamentary Evaluation Index offers clear information and institutional transparency and contributes to a more mature and responsible political life.
For his part, the Founder and Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of Oxygen for Democracy, Dr. Nikolas Kyriakides, said that the Index is the product of extensive research and comparative study of international tools, noting that it allows citizens to know objectively which MPs submit law proposals, who work in the Committees and who intervene in the Plenary. He also underlined that this effort is not aimed at shaming, but at strengthening transparency and accountability, and is part of the general philosophy of participatory democracy.
In turn, the Executive Director of Oxygen for Democracy, George Isaiah, presented in detail the methodology of the Index, explaining that it is a new tool that combines quantitative data, such as submissions of law proposals, parliamentary questions, participation in Committees and appearances in the Plenary, with qualitative evaluation, offering a more mature and fair depiction of real parliamentary activity. He underlined that numbers "do not always tell the whole truth, but they tell a truth", and that the Index aspires to be a transparent and reliable starting point for public debate and institutional improvement.
In parallel with the Index, the Founder of POLITEIA and sociologist, Dr. Nikos Peristianis, presented the results of the new quantitative survey of IMR/University of Nicosia, which accurately records citizens' perceptions of parliamentary work.
As he analyzed, although citizens are often informed about the action of the Parliament, mainly through social media (68%) and television (59%) according to the survey's measurements, the overall assessment of parliamentary work is mostly negative, with 59% stating dissatisfaction and only 6% having a positive opinion.
He added that at the same time, 84% of the participants believe that MPs do not effectively represent the needs of society, while only one in four citizens believes that MPs act in the public interest to a significant extent.
At the end of the event, an open discussion followed with journalist Andri Daniel as moderator, as well as time for networking and exchange of views, confirming the strong interest of citizens in tools that enhance transparency and institutional control, the announcement concludes.
