Former DISY leader Averof Neophytou has declared his candidacy for the 2028 presidential elections, and the decision was taken regardless of the party's internal procedures, a source close to him told Politis on Thursday. According to the same source, it is now for DISY to decide whether or not to support him.
Statement from source close to Neophytou
"Averof Neophytou has announced his candidacy for the 2028 presidential elections and the decision was taken regardless of the procedures in DISY," the source said.
Candidacy linked to the Cyprus problem
On Wednesday, appearing on the programme "Aichmes" on OMEGA, Mr Neophytou said he would be a candidate "if not a leaf moves on the Cyprus problem over the weekend".
On Thursday, he reiterated his readiness to stand if there are no developments in New York. He made clear that even a small Confidence Building Measure could be seen as a sign of movement, adding that in such a case political forces should support the effort and that there is still time before the presidential elections.
DISY's position
DISY parliamentary spokesman Dimitris Dimitriou stated that the party "will abide by its statutes" in selecting its candidate.
Speaking on the programme "Proini Epitheorisi", broadcast on Politis 107.6 and 97.6, Mr Dimitriou expressed the hope that "not everything will be bleak and that Mr Neophytou will not announce his candidacy on Monday".
"Hopefully we will have developments, even if the announcements are delayed," he said.
Call for the party base to decide
Mr Dimitriou defended the option of turning to the party's grassroots, saying that "the base provides solutions" and that "democracy was never a dead end, democracy is health".
