Asked on 29 September, on the sidelines of the Cyprus Forum, to comment on developments in the Democratic Rally (Disy), President Nikos Christodoulides pointed out that the presidential election is due in February 2028. "Without overlooking or questioning in any way the right of any of our compatriots or any political party to begin this election campaign, I believe it is far too early," he said. His remarks came a day after Annita Demetriou announced she would seek the party's nomination, following a similar announcement by Averof Neophytou. Two weeks later, government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis held the same line in an interview with Alpha TV. With 16 months to go before the ballot, he said, the priority of "all of us, or of some," cannot be the upcoming elections. Christodoulides himself had said on 4 August that he would decide in the course of 2027, while deputy government spokesman Yiannis Antoniou had set the end of the first half of 2027 as the horizon back in May, describing a new candidacy as politically logical.
Two long weekends, 14 appearances
The official presidential schedule for the past two weekends and the Mondays that followed lists 14 public appearances, 11 of them with a speech or address. Six took place in the Limassol district. Three were linked to Eoka: the inauguration of the Fighters' Memorial in Pyrgos, Limassol, on 10 October, the memorial service for Dimitrios Charalambous in Limnatis the following day and the memorial service for Yiannis Styllis and Nikos Karantonis in Kato Polemidia on Sunday. On Sunday alone, within five hours, the president travelled from Kato Polemidia to Souni-Zanatzia and from there to the Traditional Products Festival in Kelokedara, Paphos.
On Saturday evening, Christodoulides attended the 6th Bicommunal Peace Festival alongside Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhürman, a joint appearance agreed at their UN-hosted meeting on 13 October. The festival returned after a seven-year break, with UNFICYP head Khassim Diagne, Progressive Party of Working People (Akel) general secretary Stefanos Stefanou and former Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat among those present. "For us, and I say this with the full weight of the word, there is no option other than the reunification of our homeland," Christodoulides said, while Erhürman made no statement. From the same event, the president noted that the UN Secretary-General's personal envoy, María Ángela Holguín, knows who immediately said yes and who immediately said no to the proposal António Guterres put forward in New York. The next morning in Kato Polemidia, he delivered a memorial address for Eoka fighters that referred to the vision of enosis, the union of Cyprus with Greece. Today his schedule includes the inauguration of the new Accident and Emergency department at Nicosia General Hospital and an event marking 150 years of Estia.
A president's presence at anniversaries, memorial services and inaugurations is part of his institutional role, and no single engagement on the schedule is unusual in itself. What stands out is the density and, above all, the breadth. Within a few days, Christodoulides spoke at the Morphou anti-occupation march, chaired a special cabinet session with young people aged 17–35, addressed a book presentation on Mikis Theodorakis in Larnaca and the 30th anniversary of the Limassol Adult Care Home, attended a village festival of traditional products in Paphos and is today opening Nicosia's new A&E department. Almost every appearance speaks to a different audience, from refugees and young people to rural communities, social welfare and health.
Projects and September 2027
Speaking in Souni-Zanatzia, where he opened the community nursery, the president announced the construction of a primary school, noting that more than 150 children from the community attend school in Limassol. He also announced funding for a multipurpose centre costing around €1.5 million, with €400,000 to be spent within the year.
A €3.5 billion package of European and national funds will be approved by the cabinet in September 2027, five months before the presidential election, and Christodoulides urged communities to get their projects ready in time. Fiscal responsibility, he said, allows the government "to return growth back to the citizens." Earlier, at the memorial service for the fallen of Trikomo, he had set out his record on deterrence, fiscal discipline and migration, bringing it all together under the phrase "Security in all areas."
What the parties see
On the same day the government spokesman spoke of a premature debate, Democratic Party (Diko) Famagusta MP Zacharias Koulias argued that the president says it is too early while touring events and shaking the hand of every last person in attendance. Koulias said he did not consider a bid for re-election unreasonable but asked that citizens' intelligence be respected. He also suggested that Health Minister Neophytos Charalambides came under pressure from the Presidential Palace when he said on 9 September that Diko already has a President of the Republic and is not looking for a candidate, and he backed the party fielding its own candidate.
In Akel, MP Giorgos Loucaides was already saying in May that Christodoulides had begun campaigning the day after the last election. Speaking at the party's Famagusta district conference on Sunday, Stefanou took aim at those who had dragged the country into a "premature and long campaign," with Disy as the main target.
The office as a campaign tool
On 13 October, the president declined to comment on developments in Disy following the withdrawal of the party's leader, asking reporters: "Why should I comment on the decision of a political leader?" According to reports, the withdrawal caused concern at the Presidential Palace, as a more united Disy narrows the openings that emerged in 2023. The combined support of the three parties that backed him then is estimated to have fallen by 8 to 9 points from around 24%, with the Movement for Social Democracy (Edek) and the Democratic Front (Dipa) now out of parliament.
In this landscape, a president without a party machine has every reason to delay a formal decision and let the office work in his favour. Christodoulides was elected in 2023 as an independent after breaking with the party he came from, and his re-election will again depend on how many political forces he can rally around him. As long as he has not declared, he does not become a target while Disy takes stock of its strength, nor does he force Diko to choose between the Charalambides line and the Koulias line. In the meantime, the government inaugurates, announces and sets the agenda, tools none of his potential rivals can use. The schedule of recent days, however, shows that the preparation is not on hold.
