“Christodoulou Makri Sofia, 1,191 votes and 53.51%. According to the bylaws: EDEK – LAOS – ANTISTASI.”
These events were unfolding on the fourth floor of the building housing the EDEK offices, at the historic moment when Sophia Christodoulou Makri was proclaimed the party’s new president.
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
The 27-year-old has become the youngest president in the movement’s history and its first female president, marking a new era for EDEK.
In an election process marked by division, introversion, and tensions that have become the norm in the historic party in recent years, the former President of EDEK’s Youth Wing won a landslide victory over her opponents.
READ ALSO: Who is 27-year-old Sofia Christodoulou Makri, elected President of EDEK?
Her victory takes on even greater significance when one considers that the turnout of 2,233 members at the internal party polls far exceeded the 1,787 who voted last June when Nikos Anastasiou was elected.
Specifically, Sofia Christodoulou received 1,191 votes and 53.5% of the vote, Koullis Mavronikolas received 788 votes and 35.4%, and Giorgos Kouttoukis received 246 votes and 11.1%.
Restrained and brief in her initial remarks, the new President of EDEK referred to the party’s founder and his legacy, sending messages of unity.
“I want to thank the men and women of EDEK from the bottom of my heart. I fully understand the weight of this responsibility. I assure you that I will make every effort to prove myself worthy of our historic party.”
SEE ALSO: Sophia Christodoulou Makri: I fully understand the weight of this responsibility
As of yesterday, Sophia Christodoulou is the second party leader after Fidias Panagiotou to be under thirty years of age, which may send the message that young people are anything but detached from public affairs.
A lawyer by profession, in addition to her law degree, she holds master’s degrees in European Studies and Political Strategy and Communication from British universities, during which time she served as President of Agon United Kingdom, as well as President of the Greek and Cypriot Community at the University of Leicester, where she earned her law degree.
In addition to her professional role as a lawyer, Ms. Christodoulou has served as Secretary-General of the party’s Youth Wing since 2024 and, since last year, as its Chair, a position that is now vacant.
“I want to see a strong EDEK, a united EDEK, a beneficial EDEK, a modern EDEK. I promise you that I am the President of all EDEK members, both men and women.”
Political leaders issued congratulatory statements, while the President of the Republic congratulated her by phone.
The new President will remain at the helm for at least a transitional period until December. Until then, she is called upon to oversee the EDEK statutory convention in October and, in December, the party’s Regular Electoral Congress, where members will once again be called to the polls to elect the EDEK President for the next five years.
Watch Neoklis Neokleous’s report:
