EDEK appears to have surrendered to a vicious cycle of introversion, with Nikos Anastasiou resigning from the party presidency and switching off his mobile phone, leaving behind two conflicting factions. One faction, whose main exponent is former EDEK president Marinos Sizopoulos, disputes the decisions taken by the Extraordinary Pancyprian Congress, speaking of a statutory deviation. The second faction is attempting to implement in practice the decisions taken on 5 July, putting forward the argument that the Pancyprian Congress is the party's supreme body.
The Central Committee is now called upon to apply article 43 of the party statute, which provides that, following the resignation of the party president, elections are proclaimed within 40 days for the election of a new leader. During this period, deputy president Morfakis Solomonidis, who also holds the position of the party's general director, presides.
A surprise resignation
Nikos Anastasiou resigned unexpectedly on Tuesday with a public statement, expressing the observation that "instead of the knives going into their sheaths, they are being sharpened, with all that this entails", while admitting that he had failed in his effort to unite the party. The Political Bureau had met the previous day and, given the chronological sequence of events, certain party officials conclude that members of that collective body exerted strong pressure on the party president.
Disputing the Pancyprian Congress decisions
Party sources told "P" that the climate in the Political Bureau was tense and that the session took place in the presence of a lawyer, with the aim of disputing the legality of the Pancyprian Congress decisions. The same sources expressed the assessment that specific members of the Political Bureau are attempting to provoke a new rift in EDEK in order to halt the procedures activated by the Pancyprian Congress, which concern, among other things, the opening of the membership register, the holding of a Statutory Congress and a financial audit. They asked: "Why do some people not want the return of members who were expelled, and the financial audit?"
Pointing to Nikos Nikolaides
However, other officials told "P" that the Political Bureau session was conducted in a calm climate and that Nikos Anastasiou resigned because of the hard stance shown by certain members of EDEK's five-member Committee for Congresses and Register Cleansing. They point specifically to Nikos Nikolaides, who rushed to announce on Facebook the Committee's decisions to hold a Statutory and an Electoral Congress on 11 October and 13 December 2026respectively.
These officials also express the position that the Committee, which was established by decision of the Pancyprian Congress, did not respect the party's collective bodies, unilaterally setting dates for the Statutory and Electoral Congresses. They further hold that the Committee has a defined role, which is the compilation of a list of the individuals who stood as candidates with other parties or supported candidates of other factions.
EDEK's announcement on the developments
In an announcement issued today, EDEK expresses regret over the resignation of Nikos Anastasiou and stresses that the party's competent collective bodies, the Political Bureau and the Central Committee, will be convened to manage the developments more generally. It then states that "the Political Bureau and the Central Committee, as the sole competent bodies, will proceed with the implementation of the decisions of the Extraordinary Pancyprian Congress of 5 July 2026".
The reference to "sole competent bodies" (Political Bureau and Central Committee) in the official EDEK announcement demonstrates precisely the questioning of the role of the five-member Committee for Congresses and Register Cleansing. It is no coincidence that the official minutes of the Extraordinary Pancyprian Congress, signed by President Nikos Anastasiou and the other members of the leadership, are attached to the announcement. This is a move that seeks precisely to highlight what the role of the Committee for Congresses and Register Cleansing is, as understood by the official leadership. It is recalled that the five-member Committee consists of Nikos Anastasiou, Nikos Nikolaides, Diomedes Diomedous, Michalis Koutalianos and Pavlos Michael.
Transitional president
It appears that the establishment of the Committee for holding a Statutory and an Electoral Congress has created new balances within EDEK, and in the coming period the internal party disputes will focus on whether the decisions of the Extraordinary Pancyprian Congress are contrary to the statute. Consultations will also begin for the election of a transitional president until December, when the Electoral Congress will be held, and it is unknown at this moment which official will take on this role.
Succession battle
This development may well accelerate the succession battle in the party, forcing the officials eyeing the party presidency to show their hand.
Several officials, of course, consider that whoever takes over as transitional president may well be "burnt" by the difficult decisions they will be called upon to take until the Electoral Congress. There is the hot potato known as the membership register and the issue of expulsions that must be resolved, while the Statutory Congress, which will examine all these matters, comes first.
The result of the parliamentary elections highlighted the role of the party's youth, whose members also received the most preference votes. In Nicosia, the 27-year-old president of the Youth, Sofia Christodoulou, ranked first; in Famagusta, the Youth secretary Andri Demetriou Steka; and in Kyrenia, Marios Leonidou. Indeed, in Nicosia, the former Youth president and party vice-president Pambos Christodoulou came third in preference votes. If, therefore, the faction calling for someone from the youth to take over the party presidency prevails, then the most likely candidates are either Pambos Christodoulou or Sofia Christodoulou.
Also in the frame for the internal party elections are the names of those who were ready to contest the presidency in 2025. Former Nicosia MP Ilias Myrianthous has not hidden his interest, while it remains unknown whether Morfakis Solomonidis and Marios Hannides will stand again.
