Edek leader Sofia Christodoulou Makri opened the party’s statutory congress on Sunday with a call for unity, as the party tries to push ahead with its organisational and financial rebuilding and leave behind the internal feuds of recent years. She extended a particular welcome to party figures who have returned to Edek, stressed the need to secure the party’s continued political presence and backed the three packages of proposed statutory changes put to a vote, which aim to modernise internal procedures and strengthen members’ participation. None of the 11 Political Bureau members who wrote to the party leader in the preceding days attended the proceedings, according to information obtained by Politis. In their letter, the 11 had voiced strong disagreement with certain decisions and objected to the procedure by which the statutory congress was convened. Attendance among party members was nonetheless strong, and those present included former Edek leader Nikos Anastasiou, former MP Kostis Efstathiou and former MEP Demetris Papadakis.
A call to disagree without breaking apart
A large part of Christodoulou Makri’s speech focused on overcoming internal divisions, with the party leader setting cohesion and Edek’s continuity as her priorities. “What is the point of someone winning an internal disagreement if, in the end, we all lose Edek together?” she asked, adding that no office and no personal quarrel can be placed above the party’s future. Unity, she made clear, does not mean the absence of differing views or silence about problems. “It means we must learn to disagree without falling apart. To debate without belittling one another. To decide without forgetting that, the next day, we will have to keep fighting together,” she said. She welcomed both those who stayed with the party through difficult periods and those who chose to return despite past disagreements. “Today we are here as equal members of the same party, with a shared responsibility for Edek’s future,” she said, stressing that the party must work in a way that gives all its members room and a voice.
Three packages of statutory changes
The proposed amendments to the party statutes are at the heart of the congress, and Christodoulou Makri announced that she supports the three grouped documents being put to a vote. The main aim, she explained, is statutes that guarantee equal opportunities for participation, expression, representation and running for party office. She argued that unjustified obstacles limiting members’ active participation must be removed and stressed the need for clear rules and procedures applied equally to all. “Internal party democracy must be guaranteed in practice, through statutes that unite rather than exclude, encourage rather than restrict, and ensure that every member has a real voice and role in the Movement,” she said. The changes form part of Edek’s wider reorganisation, with the electoral congress the next milestone within the agreed timetable.
Expulsions lifted and finances under scrutiny
The party leader spoke at length about the implementation of the four decisions taken at the party’s previous extraordinary congress, saying concrete steps had been taken within a month and a half. On the membership registers, she said the party had lifted the expulsions in order to end disputes over the register’s composition and restore normal internal functioning. On financial sustainability, she said a study had been completed, financial and corrective measures had been implemented and a fundraising drive among members had been launched. She also announced that terms of reference have been drawn up for a forensic accounting audit, and bids have been sought from eight independent firms, a significant step as the leadership grapples with the financial challenges facing the party. Christodoulou Makri added that after the congress she would remain in the hall to present the financial and organisational report and answer members’ questions, citing the need for transparency and accountability.
Rebuilding to fight for society
Beyond internal matters, Christodoulou Makri sought to link Edek’s rebuilding to its political and social role. The party, she said, must return to society, prioritising the high cost of living, the housing problem and social inequality, as well as support for low-income pensioners, single-parent families and young couples. She also spoke of the need to pursue a just solution to the Cyprus problem, invoking Edek’s historical legacy and the principles of its founder, Vassos Lyssarides. “We are not rebuilding Edek only so that it survives as a party. We are rebuilding it so that it can fight more effectively for society,” she said. She also referred to the organisational initiatives of recent weeks, including two visits to every district, seven regional meetings and contacts with institutional officials and diplomatic representatives. Closing her speech, she set the party’s survival, unity and renewal as its central goals. “Edek will not be saved by one person. It will be saved by all of us. It will be saved if we all decide together that it is worth saving,” she said, concluding that “the first chapter of Edek’s new page has already begun to be written. The page has turned, and it will not turn back.” The statutory congress is one of the key milestones in Edek’s rebuilding ahead of the electoral congress in December, at which the process of electing the party’s new leadership is expected to be completed.
The returns and the absence of the 11
The congress takes place in an unusual internal climate, as the effort to reunite Edek is accompanied by disagreements over the new leadership’s procedures and decisions. Among the figures who had signalled their intention to return to party life were Papadakis and Efstathiou, both of whom were expelled under the leadership of Marinos Sizopoulos. On the other side, the 11 Political Bureau members who wrote to the leader questioning her handling of party affairs were absent, according to information obtained by Politis. They had objected to the procedure for convening the statutory congress, arguing that the party’s collective bodies were being bypassed, had questioned the validity of the process and had called for special meetings of the Political Bureau on the statutory changes and the party’s financial situation.
Former minister Doros Theodorou was also absent from the congress for health reasons, although he took part in the earlier process of drafting the statutes and submitted his own proposals. According to a briefing given at the congress, Theodorou described the process as the product of “an unadulterated democratic spirit” and expressed the view that the new statutes will form the basis for a fresh start for Edek.
