The first round of contacts between the leaders of parliamentary parties over the presidency of the House of Representatives and committee posts was completed this week, but the political picture remains unclear.
No agreement has yet been reached on any alliance. DISY has officially decided to seek re-election to the presidency of the legislative body, with Annita Demetriou as its candidate, while ELAM has made clear that it will field its own candidate in the first round. DIKO has shown strong interest, with party president Nicolas Papadopoulos holding contacts with all parties. AKEL is expected to decide early next week, ALMA has put forward the name of Irene Charalambides, and Direct Democracy has said it will make its decision last.
AKEL keeps all options open
Based on the current state of play, parties appear to have set out their initial positions and are trying to gauge the intentions of others before calculating the balance of power and taking final decisions.
Speaking on Friday on the Politis Radio 107.6 and 97.6 programme Morning Review, AKEL general secretary Stefanos Stefanou said that “everything is on the table and nothing is on the table”, leaving open even the possibility of an AKEL candidacy.
The left-wing party has recorded the positions of the other parties and is expected to take decisions next Tuesday, when its political bureau meets to examine the proposals of the secretariat and the scenarios before AKEL.
DIKO promotes Papadopoulos candidacy
DIKO deputy president Christiana Erotokritou, speaking on Omega’s Enimerosi Tora programme on Friday, firmly rejected reports of a possible candidacy of her own.
She said decisions in DIKO are taken collectively and that the party has already authorised its president, Nicolas Papadopoulos, to proceed with contacts while promoting his own candidacy for the presidency of the House.
Papadopoulos, speaking on Politis Radio’s Morning Review, said contacts were being held with all parties so that their views could be heard, adding that final decisions would be taken by DIKO’s collective bodies.
Asked about his own candidacy, he said the party was discussing “that as well as any other scenario that may arise”. He stressed that “no party on its own can form a majority” and that cooperation is required.
DISY and ELAM hold their lines
Unlike the other parties, DISY is not taking part in any dialogue over the House presidency. Instead, it has taken its final decision and will contest the post with the party president as its candidate.
ELAM, meanwhile, has been holding contacts with some parties, even though it has already decided to contest the presidency with its own candidate. The party has not yet announced who its candidate will be, but Politis understands that it will be its president, Christos Christou.
ALMA seeks compromise option
ALMA appears set to try to build support for its own proposal, putting forward the name of Irene Charalambides.
However, it is considered difficult for the necessary conditions to emerge for such a “middle-ground” scenario, as movement leader Odysseas Michaelides described it.
Direct Democracy president Fidias Panayiotou has also been holding contacts with party leaders, but there has been no change in the movement’s initial position that it will decide at the end of the process.
