Averof Neofytou and Giorgos Pamborides will formally submit their candidacies today in the race to become the Democratic Rally’s (DISY) candidate for the presidency, opening the party’s internal contest ahead of the vote on November 28.
The contest also leaves the party leadership facing the pressing question of what happens the day after, and how to keep DISY united.
Nominations open at 9am and close at 12.30pm. Each candidate must submit the signatures of 500 party members, 100 of them from members of the Supreme Council, so no last-minute challenger is expected to come between Neofytou and Pamborides.
Neofytou, a former DISY leader, has announced that he will file his candidacy at the party’s offices at 11.30am. He is reportedly expecting a large turnout of supporters, a show of broad backing for his bid.
It is not yet known when Pamborides will file, or whether he will go to the party’s Pindarou Street headquarters alone or with others. Some reports say he will arrive after Neofytou.
Beyond the statements the two men will make, who stands beside them on Monday may carry weight. Even the way they handed in their supporters’ signatures last week became a talking point. Neofytou went to the party in person with 3,000 signatures, one box for each district, while Pamborides sent a folder with 500 signatures through an associate.
Anthousi backs Pamborides
Anastasia Anthousi’s endorsement of Pamborides, in an interview with Sunday’s Phileleftheros, was widely discussed within the party.
She said she had believed in 2023, and still believes, that Cyprus would have moved much further forward had Neofytou been elected president. But she said “the time has come to move on to the next step of political life”, and that she was backing Pamborides.
She cited his ability to turn vision into action, his strong chances of being elected, and his ability to build alliances, find common ground and at times take on the establishment. She added that she would stand by whichever candidate DISY members choose on November 28, saying the choice concerns not only the party’s unity but, above all, the country’s future.
Michalis Ioannides, head of DISY’s council for monitoring government work, praised the interview in a social media post. He had already declared his support for Pamborides in an interview with the newspaper Kathimerini.
With the candidacies filed, the internal campaign formally begins, along with the countdown to choosing who will carry the party’s nomination.
