EDEK is officially entering the election cycle following the resignation of Nikos Anastasiou. According to Article 43 of the party’s bylaws, elections must be held within 40 days. Members will be called upon to vote for the new president, who will lead the party at the December electoral convention, which will elect not only the president but also the rest of the leadership. In essence, barring any unforeseen circumstances, members will be called upon to elect a president twice within four months.   

“DISY is currently going through a more difficult internal party process than EDEK, so let’s give it time. I have spoken with the Deputy President, and the Political Bureau will be convened by the end of the week to discuss the next steps.”
Marios Hannides – Member of the EDEK

Political Bureau Nikos Anastasiou, however, left EDEK’s leadership members speechless when he announced his resignation for the third and final time within 50 days.

He felt pressure from former Limassol Mayor Nikos Nikolaidis and other members of the committee tasked with restructuring the membership registry. Party sources told ALPHA that the Committee informed Nicos Anastasiou of the dates for the constitutional and electoral conventions without notifying the party’s collective bodies. This is something he did not accept.
His resolve solidified on Monday evening following the meeting of the political bureau, during which he gave no indication of the decision he would make.     

Phones were off

Party officials had been in contact with Nikos Anastasiou until yesterday morning regarding procedural matters concerning the party. One of them was Marios Hannidis, among the last to speak with him before he turned off his phones. 

“His phone was off,” Mr. Hannides said, and when asked if he had responded to anyone, he noted that “no, none of us were aware of Mr. Anastasiou’s decision.”

Close associates of the outgoing party president are revealing that they learned of his departure from the media.

The situation within the party was particularly tense following the July 5 conference, when incidents and heckling broke out. On that day, the EDEK president accepted a proposal to hold the Statutory Congress first, followed by the Electoral Congress. His stance displeased a number of party officials.

See Evangelos Agapios’s report: