Sophia Christodoulou Makri, 27, was elected president of EDEK on Saturday, becoming the first woman and the youngest leader to head the party since its founding in 1969.
Christodoulou Makri secured 53% of the vote in leadership elections marked by internal tension and allegations of voter disenfranchisement.
Unofficial results from the party’s polling stations showed she secured 1,191 votes, crossing the 50% plus one threshold required for victory.
Former Defence Minister Kyriakos Mavronikolas placed second with 788 votes (35%), while Giorgos Kouttoukis received 246 votes (11%). Out of approximately 8,000 eligible party members, 2,233 cast ballots across district polling centres.
The voting process was overshadowed by friction following reports that more than 700 members were excluded from the electoral rolls.
Party officials reportedly justified the exclusions on grounds that the individuals had failed to support EDEK in previous elections.
However, critics argued that a decision reached at an extraordinary party congress applied strictly to members who had run as candidates for rival political factions, rather than general voters.
Confrontations were reported at one polling station after voters claimed they were removed from the party registry without prior notification.
District voting totals showed Christodoulou Makri winning Nicosia (389 votes), Limassol (279), Larnaca (147), Paphos (294), Pyrgos Tyllirias (46), and Athens (11).
Mavronikolas led the voting in Famagusta with 40 votes.
