The Edek leadership election is being overshadowed by claims of irregularities and moves that have fuelled suspicion during Saturday’s voting process.
According to information obtained by Politis, Takis Christodoulou, chair of the party’s Central Electoral Committee, has resigned unexpectedly, reportedly citing health reasons.
Politis attempted to contact Christodoulou, but his mobile phone was switched off.
Christodoulou’s resignation has raised questions about the conduct of the electoral process, given the central role of the chair of the Central Electoral Committee.
Under the election procedure, once counting has been completed, the membership register, ballot papers, final result and electoral committee stamps are to be kept by the chair of each Electoral Committee and handed over to the chair of the Central Electoral Committee on the day after the election.
Claims over a list of 700 people
Information obtained by Politis also suggests that a list of around 700 people has been prepared and that attempts are allegedly being made to prevent those individuals from voting.
According to the claims, the list was distributed to district electoral committees.
A party source told Politis that there is an ongoing “serious attempt to alter the election result”, allegedly involving people who joined the party recently and who are claimed to be being used to influence the outcome.
The source also alleged that Edek members in Limassol were being prevented from exercising their right to vote.
Dispute over electoral committee member
The same source further alleged that an attempt was made on Saturday morning to exclude Pavlos Anastasiou from the electoral process and prevent him from being present inside the polling room.
Anastasiou is a member of the Nicosia Electoral Committee and has publicly been identified by the official party as a supporter of candidate Sofia Christodoulou Makri.
The claims come as Edek members vote to elect the party’s next president, with the developments adding to concerns surrounding the conduct of the contest.
The allegations have not been independently verified.
