DISY's leadership has decided to officially open discussion on the 2028 presidential election in October, following the UN General Assembly, according to information obtained by Politis, generated with the assistance of AI.
There was pressure on party president Annita Demetriou to announce her candidacy in order to avoid further internal party disputes, but she asked for more time to pursue a joint candidacy. At the emergency meeting, Efthymios Diplaros and Yiannis Karousos assured the rest of the leadership that they had resolved their differences.
The dispute between Mr Diplaros and Mr Karousos was raised at the emergency leadership meeting, with both officials assuring members that "they have sorted things out," and the leadership considering the matter closed.
Following the UN General Assembly, formal discussion will begin within DISY's collective bodies on the presidential election, in order to first establish whether there will be serious developments on the Cyprus problem. This was decided at today's emergency meeting of DISY's leadership, which also examined the issue arising from the appointment of Nikos Tornaritis as Special Political Envoy of the President of the Republic for the Cyprus problem to countries in Asia and Africa.
According to information obtained by Politis, senior party figures urged party president Annita Demetriou to announce her candidacy for the presidential election as soon as possible, in order to remove the conditions creating internal party disputes. However, the party president made clear to leadership members that more time should be given to the effort for a joint candidacy.
It is recalled that Nicosia MP Georgios Pamporidis has publicly expressed his intention to run in the presidential election, while there is also strong interest from Averof Neophytou. In recent weeks, the party president held separate meetings with the two interested parties, and the effort for a consensus candidacy remains ongoing.
A party source, however, told Politis that the party leadership intends to make efforts to find a consensus solution right up until the day candidacies are submitted, that is, if decisions on internal party procedures are needed due to more than one interested party. As such, no announcement of candidacy by Annita Demetriou is expected before that stage.
The matter is closed
The leadership's emergency meeting took place at midday, on the initiative of Annita Demetriou, in order to put a definitive end to the public dispute that broke out between DISY's deputy leader, Efthymios Diplaros, and vice-president, Yiannis Karousos. The two party officials clashed over President Christodoulides' latest attempt to gain influence within the party ahead of the 2028 presidential election, by appointing DISY's former parliamentary spokesperson, Nikos Tornaritis, as special envoy for the Cyprus problem.
During the meeting, the two officials assured the rest of the leadership that "they have sorted things out" and that the matter is considered closed. This followed an intervention by the party president upon her return from abroad, aimed at calming tensions and defusing the crisis, followed by a lunch between the two officials at a restaurant, mediated by a third party.
October
The dispute between the two officials resulted, for the first time, in the presidential election being placed on the agenda of an official party session. Leadership members submitted various proposals, with some believing the party's procedures should be completed before the end of the year. According to information obtained by Politis, there was consensus on when discussion will begin within DISY's collective bodies, and it appears this will happen in October. An initial discussion will take place at leadership level, which will then move to the Executive Bureau and conclude at the Political Bureau.
Tornaritis
DISY's legal advisor, Chris Triantafyllides, also took part in the meeting, and the issue of Nikos Tornaritis' appointment was raised. It was stressed that, under the party's statute, expulsion applies when a member takes up a position within the executive branch of government, which is not the case for Mr Tornaritis.
However, the prevailing view within DISY's leadership is that a party official will only take part in the party's collective bodies if they publicly support the party's official candidate, since these bodies function as electoral headquarters during the election period.
