Disy's Political Bureau has decided to extend the internal process for choosing the party's presidential candidate, widening the tight timetable proposed by the Executive Bureau. Candidacies will be submitted on 26 October and the Extraordinary Pancyprian Electoral Assembly will be held on 28 November. "We are moving forward united," Deputy President Efthymios Diplaros said at the end of the session. During the meeting, Disy MP Giorgos Pamboridis repeated before members that he will submit his candidacy for the nomination. The Executive Bureau's original recommendation had provided for candidacies to be filed on Tuesday 13 October and the vote to be held on Saturday 14 November. The Political Bureau also unanimously authorised the Executive Bureau to set up a five-member returning committee for the process. For the first time, Disy's presidential candidate will be chosen by the party's entire membership.
Annita Demetriou's proposal
The proposal to extend the process came from party leader Annita Demetriou herself. During the session, she told the body she has "no problem with the procedures running into December and January." She also proposed that all of Disy's organised bodies, from the parliamentary group to the policy groups, sign in support of every candidate as an act of unity. Former foreign minister Ioannis Kasoulides backed her line, suggesting the process be moved to December and January, while Dimitris Dimitriou proposed extending it by one month. Demetriou presented the proposal as a practical gesture of unity at a time of intense internal strife, with relations inside the party strained and senior figures warning that the battle for the nomination risks deepening the divisions. She had already announced that she would put herself to the judgement of the members.
The timetable had drawn objections before the session. Pamboridis had signalled that he would ask for more time, considering the deadlines suffocating for anyone wishing to seek the nomination, mainly because of the requirement for 500 supporting signatures from all districts. A separate suggestion had also been submitted to the party leader to move the internal election to February 2027.
Averof with Disy?
Former party leader Averof Neophytou did not attend the session, as he was abroad. A few hours earlier, however, he chose to address the grassroots directly. In a social media post, he wrote that he was moved by the thousands of messages he has received and that he never doubted the "pure and selfless people" of the party, with whom he said he had walked for 50 years. "I will never betray you," he wrote, adding that they will not allow anyone "to betray our common vision again […] And this is my commitment to all my fellow citizens and to society as a whole. Together we move forward." Since Sunday, when he announced his intention to seek the nomination, Neophytou has been telling journalists that his candidacy is not confined to Disy, while avoiding saying whether he will run as an independent. Should he confirm that he will seek the nomination through the party, the internal vote becomes a direct clash with the party leader and a contest over the party's direction, including its relationship with the Christodoulides government.
Disy's statement
In its official statement, Disy said all proposals were heard and an extensive and substantive exchange of views took place, aiming to ensure a process marked by transparency and respect for the party's statute and members. "The Political Bureau unanimously adopted a consensual solution regarding the postponement of the timetable for the candidate selection process," the statement said, describing the procedure as unprecedented in Cyprus as it opens the choice of presidential candidate to the party's tens of thousands of members. The Political Bureau unanimously called on all party officials to help ensure the internal democratic process is conducted on terms that strengthen the party. It also unanimously called on all potential candidates for the nomination "to participate in the internal procedures and to state publicly their intention to fully respect the verdict of the members," and urged all members to take part en masse in what it called a great democratic process of which everyone is proud.
