Ready to reveal the names of those who are at the Presidential Palace in the morning and at Pindarou Street at noon, Yiannis Karousos, Vice President of the Democratic Alarm Party, appears from the studio of the Alpha Kalimera show, analyzing the behind-the-scenes developments of the 2028 presidential election and insisting that DISY must immediately make decisions regarding the candidate who will run for the nomination.
“Before we assess our strengths, we must join forces. And we all owe it to ourselves to make an effort on this issue of selecting the Democratic Alarm’s candidate for President of the Republic; if a solution is found, so much the better. But we must first exhaust the internal consultation process.”
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
When asked whether this consultation is taking place, he states that he is pleased that Anita Dimitriou and Averof Neophytou have held the meeting following the public appeals from all sides. “Several of us in the Democratic Alarm have stated that we wanted—and asked—for this meeting to take place,” he added.
“The Democratic Alarm community expects its leaders—both current and former—to demonstrate the necessary willingness to at least discuss this issue. And that is happening; I’m glad this meeting took place. It’s very important, and I hope there will be more meetings like this.”
When asked whether the meeting had yielded any results, he replied that he was not aware of any details, other than that it took place in a positive atmosphere, views were exchanged, and “quite a few other things” were discussed.
“First of all, the Democratic Alarm’s bylaws contain a provision that will resolve this issue. I was among those who proposed the solution that the party’s base—that is, the approximately 52,000 members—should select the Democratic Alarm’s candidate.”
When asked what the three criteria are that the Democratic Alarm candidate must meet, he states:
“Look, I think the names—at least those who have expressed interest—all meet the criteria to be Democratic Alarm candidates for the presidency. According to the party bylaws, the requirement is that they submit a certain number of signatures—500 signatures—100 of which must be from members of the Supreme Council, distributed proportionally by district.”
In response to a question about who the three names are, he states that the three names being mentioned so far are those of the President, Averof Neophytou, and Giorgos Pamboridis. “Giorgos Pamboridis has declared his candidacy. I think he’s the only one who has officially declared for ’28; now, whether there will be others, I don’t know, but it’s open to all members,” he adds.
“We have a duty to make this effort, to join forces at the outset, before we proceed with the process outlined in the bylaws. If we exhaust this available option and no solution is found, then yes, we’ll proceed with the procedures outlined in the bylaws because, in my view, these procedures must be carried out as soon as possible. The Democratic Alarm must have its candidate within the next two months. This is very important. Because the longer we delay, the more we give our main opponent—the current President, Nikos Christodoulides—the opportunity to gain ground.”
When asked to comment on Averof Neophytou’s remarks about supporting Nikos Christodoulides if he sees a path forward on the Cyprus issue, he states that Neophytou is expressing his own views, which are to be respected.
“I think the statement means that if there are substantive developments, he should have support. But for me, the Cyprus issue is one thing, and the choice of the party’s presidential candidate is quite another. We shouldn’t link the two. I believe that linking them is an attempt by the Presidential Office to delay the process within the Democratic Rally.”
“I believe that linking the Democratic Alarm’s potential candidacy for the Presidential Republic to the Cyprus issue is not correct,” he adds.
“It’s a given that the Democratic Alarm—as the polls also indicate—will essentially be competing with Nicos Christodoulides, who will advance to the second round. We don’t have the candidates yet, but that’s how it looks. We must not give the Presidential Office that advantage. Therefore, we must not link the two. We must move forward with our own procedures; we need to have our candidate in place yesterday—that is my view. I’ve stated it publicly, and I’m saying it internally within the party every day. I believe that if we let November pass, we’ll be one step behind; we’ll start at a disadvantage, so to speak. And it’s important to me that our candidate have 14–15 months, because the public now expects us to present a governance plan—one that we must prepare and present, cost out, and present to the public.”
When asked if he has a preference among the three who appear to be expressing interest as candidates for the presidency, he replied that he won’t say anything now but will do so when the time comes.
He describes the defections from DISY to Nikos Christodoulides as an “internal coup.”
“What happened to us last time—and especially to my dear Averof—is as if we’d staged an internal coup against him. That’s essentially what happened to him. Or rather, what happened to us. We must ensure that this does not happen again. That is why I spoke out so strongly on the issue that was troubling the party’s presidential leadership. We want them to leave us alone. We need to shield our party. We want to go into the election with integrity and honor. Without any below-the-belt attacks.”
And he states that if he finds out that people at Pindarou are supporting Nikos Christodoulidis during the campaign, he’ll name names.
“But I won’t have my campaign staff holding meetings where my opponent is informed about what I’ve said or where, or my candidate’s campaign plan so that he can rush over and speak with those people himself. We need to plug these leaks, and I’m saying this: I have no problem with anyone wanting to meet with anyone else—just let us know—but in the morning at the Presidential Palace or at noon on Pindarou Street? No, I’ll name names if I personally find out that this is happening—with any candidate—because we still have to choose our candidate. Once we’ve chosen him, we must all stand united and campaign for our candidate.”
