The Supreme Council of Democratic Rally (DISY) is meeting today to ratify the party’s ballot for the upcoming parliamentary elections, following a court decision that rejected an interim request by candidate Nikos Sykas.
On Thursday, the Limassol District Court dismissed Sykas’ application to block the Supreme Council from examining and approving his removal from the party’s candidate list. The ruling clears the way for the party’s internal procedures to continue.
The party is expected to present its full list of 56 candidates at a nationwide conference after the Supreme Council meeting. DISY had already treated the matter as closed and proceeded with replacement steps. Andreas Michailidis has been added to the ballot in place of Sykas. Konstantinos Karseras was also added in Paphos, where there had been a pending vacancy.
In its decision, the court ruled that there is no evidence at this stage of irreparable harm to the applicant. It also found that the nature of the injunction requested could have produced final consequences for the main case before it is fully heard.
Sykas had asked the court to prohibit the Supreme Council from validating his removal. However, the main application remains pending. In that filing, he argues that the Political Bureau’s decision was unlawful and that the Supreme Council lacks the legal authority to ratify it.
The court said the type of order requested required a clear and strong case. It found that this threshold was not met. According to the ruling, there was no clear breach of the party’s statutes or of Sykas’ rights.
The court stated that even if there appears to be a visible prospect of success concerning the procedure followed, the case cannot be described as clear. As a result, the court said it could not exercise its authority to issue the requested interim order.
A key point in the decision is that Sykas has not yet been formally removed from the ballot. The Political Bureau’s decision requires ratification by the Supreme Council before it takes effect.
The court noted that the party’s statutes do not contain a specific procedure for removing a candidate from the ballot. It also recorded the party’s position that, in cases not expressly covered, the Supreme Council holds residual authority to interpret and apply the statutes.
The ruling states that neither the Executive Office nor the Political Bureau is explicitly granted power by the statutes to remove a candidate. However, any decision taken without express authorisation must be ratified by the Supreme Council. The Council, the court said, has the authority to interpret the statutes on issues not provided for.
In its conclusion on procedure, the court said that even if there is ambiguity, it is for the party itself to resolve it and not for the court to intervene at this stage. It found no clear breach of the party’s constitutional provisions.
The court also stated that if the Supreme Council ultimately decides to remove Sykas from the ballot, he retains the right to return to court and seek legal remedy.
In another section of the decision, the court addressed whether Sykas should have been heard by the Executive or Political Bureau. It found no evidence that either body conducted a substantive investigation requiring his position to be taken. Nor did they act as a selection or removal committee.
Instead, the court said those bodies took preliminary decisions based on specific data. These decisions are not final, as they require ratification by the Supreme Council.
With the interim request rejected, attention now turns to today’s meeting of the Supreme Council, which will determine whether the removal is formally approved and the revised ballot confirmed ahead of the elections.