Disy says party rules will govern 2028 nomination after Neophytou announces bid

Nicosia, Cyprus. Disy said its statutory procedures will govern its presidential nomination after former leader Averof Neophytou announced on Sunday that he would run in the 2028 election. Neophytou cited what he described as inadequate progress on the Cyprus problem in the three and a half years since President Nikos Christodoulides took office.

Disy stresses party procedures

Disy said anyone has the right to seek the presidency, but its statutory procedures are the only route to the party’s nomination. It said Neophytou understands the importance of those procedures and collective decision-making.

The party said the issue was not about individuals, but about its institutions, respect for its tens of thousands of members and the unity of the political group. Decisions will be taken by the competent collective bodies and party members in accordance with its statutes, it said. Disy’s leadership was due to meet later on Monday.

Neophytou sets out his candidacy

Neophytou said on Sunday that the “window of hope” for resolving the Cyprus problem had remained closed and that nothing had been agreed after high-level contacts in New York. He said the deadlock persisted, the outlook was worsening and his warnings that time was not on Cyprus’s side had gone unheeded.

He said negotiations had not even begun and accused the country’s leadership of following a familiar course. Calling for a “national awakening” and mobilisation towards reunification and an end to the occupation, he said Cyprus needed to move beyond passivity, resignation and de facto acceptance of the status quo.

Neophytou said he was submitting his candidacy for the 2028 presidential election to address the country’s major problems, create opportunities for young people and build a just society.