Nicosia, Cyprus. Tensions between Dipa and the Presidential Palace escalated on Tuesday after senior party figure Marinos Cleanthous accused members of President Nikos Christodoulides’ circle of supporting rival parties during the parliamentary election campaign, contributing to Dipa’s exclusion from parliament.
Remarks on the campaign
Speaking to Radio Astra, the Dipa vice president said there had been “a game enacted by some who are close to the presidential circles” that “operated in a way that is certainly not positive towards Dipa”.
He said the party was assessing the reasons behind its electoral defeat and argued that actions by figures aligned with the president had “played out the specific result to the detriment of Dipa”.
Claims about support for other parties
Cleanthous stopped short of directly accusing the president or his office of targeting Dipa, but said individuals within the presidential camp openly favoured collaboration with candidates from other parties, including Elam, Disy and Diko.
“I’m not saying they fought Diko but rather that they helped candidates who were in other parties,” he said.
“Cyprus is small and we are aware of the friendships and sympathies that at times seem to exist from presidential circles towards others.”
Aftermath of the election
The remarks were the sharpest public criticism directed at Christodoulides by a senior Dipa official since Sunday’s election, in which the party failed to secure representation in the House after receiving 3.1% of the vote.
Cleanthous said Dipa had paid “a disproportionately large cost” for supporting the government and suggested that some within the president’s political orbit had prioritised longer-term electoral calculations ahead of the 2028 presidential election.
“Some threatened their position or posed greater dilemmas,” he said.
“They seem to have achieved more dynamic support for themselves.” In a separate statement, he described such behaviour as “rather dishonest”.