Four centres of power shape the Right’s race to Cyprus’s 2028 presidential election

Politics annita demetrioucypruselectionsgovernmentTop News Four centres of power shape the Right’s race to Cyprus’s 2028 presidential election Proedriko Christodoulides Annita Averof Pamborides 1024x614 Relevant News Four centres of power shape the Right’s race to Cyprus’s 2028 presidential election 12 July 2026 Lindsey Graham, pivotal US Republican senator, dies suddenly at 71 12 July 2026 Sirens to sound across Cyprus on 15 and 20 July 12 July 2026 Frixos Dalitis 12 July 2026 FacebookXWhatsAppEmailPrintViber The strategic plans of the main power centres on the Right are beginning to unfold ahead of a long road, with many stages still to come, towards the 2028 presidential election. Nicos Christodoulides on one side, and Annita Demetriou, Averof Neophytou and George Pamboridis on the other, are currently the four main poles around which the political landscape within the broader Right is expected to develop — and possibly be reshaped. A decisive factor in this equation will be the outcome of the internal battle within DISY for the presidential nomination, as well as the party’s internal condition and the degree of unity with which it enters the election campaign. A second key factor will be DIKO’s position and whether it continues its partnership with the government by again backing Christodoulides for the presidency in 2028. A third decisive factor will be ELAM’s stance, whether it fields its own candidate and, if so, who that candidate will be. The political landscape is gradually entering a period of greater movement, with developments and current affairs constantly shaping and reshaping the balance. Three at the starting line for Pindarou Three names are already on the table at DISY headquarters following Pamboridis’s formal expression of interest. Through her actions and public statements so far, Demetriou is preparing the ground to formally announce her own interest in the coming period. Information regarding the timing suggests that she will do so after the summer, most likely in September, presenting party unity as the central political theme of her internal campaign. Neophytou is also known to be ready to seek the nomination and now says so openly during meetings with party members, officials and influential figures. He is putting forward his experience and the political weight attached to his candidacy. Pamboridis announced his interest during an appearance on the ANT1Live Podcast. The DISY MP is presenting his own political proposal as one capable of reaching wider society beyond the party’s core electorate. The internal balance at Pindarou About 43,000 people with voting rights are registered as DISY members. Around 21,000 voted in the party leadership election held in March 2023. Interest could be higher in a contest to select the party’s presidential candidate, particularly with at least three people seeking the nomination. Party officials nevertheless estimate that not all members will vote, since some are inactive. One of the key questions will therefore be turnout and which contender has secured the largest number of reliable party votes. Who controls the district and local powerbrokers? District committee presidents and local party officials play a particularly important role in an internal contest, as they are regarded as figures who can influence members and shape the result. This has not gone unnoticed. As party leader, Demetriou maintains contact with district committees and local officials across the country, but Neophytou is still considered to have strong ties with them. The former party president worked closely with many of them during his tenure, helped some of them and remains in contact. For the past three years, Neophytou has maintained personal and telephone contact with party members as he lays the groundwork for a possible candidacy. Demetriou, meanwhile, remains highly popular within the wider DISY electorate and emerged significantly strengthened inside the party after the parliamentary election result. There are different interpretations of the 27.1% secured by DISY at the ballot box. Even so, the party leader is entitled to claim credit for an electoral success, just as she would have been held responsible for a poor result. Pamboridis is also a distinct political figure within DISY, with his own following and considerable popularity as an MP in his district, as reflected in the parliamentary election result. He carries the political legacy of his term as health minister and the creation of the General Healthcare System, and is seen by some as a choice for DISY. The “Christodoulides supporters” are now another factor in the Pindarou contest. DISY members who support Christodoulides retain the right to vote for the party’s presidential candidate. Will they act as a bloc, and on what criteria? That too forms part of the equation. Waiting for the reshuffle A partial cabinet reshuffle is one of the final cards Christodoulides is expected to play as he prepares to seek re-election. The reshuffle is not expected within the next few days and may instead take place towards the end of the summer, giving the president more time to finalise his plans. The central challenge for Christodoulides is to secure the level of support needed to reach the second round. He therefore wants to retain DISY voters who identify as his supporters and maximise his backing from the parties participating in government. Based on some private polling, the estimate is that he retains the support of just under 30% of DISY voters. Under current conditions, this means he hopes to secure about 8% from DISY voters and add it to the support of the governing parties. DIKO, EDEK and DIPA secured a combined share of about 16.4% in the most recent election. Will he secure all of it? No. The fewer the losses, however, the greater the momentum. Much will also depend on ELAM’s decisions and on voters who made other choices, including the Hunters’ Movement, which supported Christodoulides in 2023, and the Greens, from whom he is also expected to draw votes. With that in mind, any changes to the government line-up will be primarily aimed at preserving the balance between Christodoulides’s different pools of support. DIKO’s presence is therefore expected to be strengthened as a partial response to Nicolas Papadopoulos’s demands, though not to the point of disturbing the wider balance within the government. EDEK and DIPA are expected to retain a government presence, while uncertainty remains over how Christodoulides will deal with people who come from DISY. Several names were discussed extensively in recent days. The reality is that Christodoulides wants DISY figures in his government, but he will not bring them in in a way that provokes a backlash or produces the opposite result. The second-round cards of the potential candidates The presidential campaign may not have formally begun, but the camps of the potential candidates are already analysing their strategies. One of the main arguments expected to feature in the campaign, although it is broadly accepted that the decisive battle will be fought in the first round, is each candidate’s prospect of winning on the second Sunday. The assessment differs in every case and begins from a different starting point. In a repeat of the 2023 scenario, with Christodoulides reaching the second round, he is considered to have a strong advantage in seeking re-election. That would apply whether his opponent were again Andreas Mavroyiannis or another candidate backed by AKEL. In such a scenario, it would be logical and expected for DISY voters to move towards Christodoulides, as they did in 2023. For Pindarou, such an outcome would be disastrous and would leave the party with no realistic option other than openly backing Christodoulides. This is an argument that Christodoulides and his team are expected to promote heavily during the campaign as an incentive for voters to help him reach the second round. He would, of course, carry the damage caused by his time in government, the mistakes and missteps that have occurred, as well as the discontent of those disappointed by the distribution of power. At the same time, he can point to his government’s record, the positive state of the economy, the country’s stability, recognition of its foreign policy achievements and the argument that, with both its strengths and weaknesses, his administration is a tested option. Demetriou, on the other hand, is presented as the candidate with a strong chance of defeating Christodoulides and reaching the second round herself. In other words, she is seen as capable of winning the major battle of the first Sunday, which is the central objective. She clearly has appeal among DISY voters and could achieve a high level of party mobilisation. That would also limit the number of DISY votes leaking towards Christodoulides. The 27.1%, regardless of how it is interpreted, is a solid base on which she can build. Were she to reach the second round, she would have a clear advantage in attracting Christodoulides’s voters. Christodoulides himself would then have to decide what position to take towards the final two candidates. Neophytou secured slightly more than 26% as a candidate in the previous presidential election. That was not enough to take him into the second round at the time, but in the context of 2028 it provides a strong argument for the potential strength of his candidacy. Beyond that, the calculations in a second-round contest against an AKEL-backed candidate would be broadly similar to those applying to Demetriou. Could Christodoulides face either Demetriou or Neophytou in the second round? It is considered extremely unlikely unless AKEL selects a candidate who fails to mobilise the Left or unless the opposition vote is split among multiple candidates. In such a scenario, it would be interesting to see how left-wing voters responded to the choice before them. The first challenge for Demetriou and Neophytou, however, is to determine who wins their internal contest and how a Pamboridis candidacy affects the balance within the party. DIKO: Next steps and a poll DIKO is not expected to take decisions on the presidential election in the immediate future. Information points to a poll currently testing a series of presidential election scenarios, with Christodoulides measured against various possible opponents. Appointments to the boards of semi-governmental organisations and the cabinet reshuffle will be crucial to relations between the two sides. Christodoulides is not expected to remove either Finance Minister Makis Keravnos or Interior Minister Constantinos Ioannou simply to hand one of the two ministries to DIKO, as Papadopoulos has demanded. The DIKO leader considered various scenarios involving specific party figures, but the matter went no further. Christodoulides does not want to lose DIKO’s support, particularly if that could lead to cooperation between DIKO and DISY. For Papadopoulos, however, leaving the government would not be an easy decision. He knows that a significant group of party officials and members wants the partnership to continue, while another group opposes supporting either Demetriou or Neophytou. ELAM: The presidential election scenarios ELAM will not support a candidate backed by AKEL. Everything else remains open for discussion. There is, however, uncertainty surrounding Demetriou should the DISY leader ultimately become a candidate. Some argue that the circumstances behind ELAM’s refusal to support her for the House presidency were different and related specifically to parliamentary affairs. Others strongly believe that, just as support for her as House president was ruled out, backing her for president of the Republic should also be excluded in advance. The situation would be different if Neophytou had won the DISY nomination. Since all scenarios remain on the table, such a possibility could also be discussed. The debate remains theoretical at this stage, but it carries particular significance for ELAM’s position towards Christodoulides. A widespread perception has taken hold of behind-the-scenes cooperation between the Presidential Palace and ELAM, with the latter often described as acting like a shadow governing party. The reality is that Christodoulides retains significant support among ELAM voters. A decision to back him is therefore more likely than one to support any other candidate. The critical question is whether ELAM ultimately decides to support another candidate rather than contest the election independently, as it did in 2023 and 2018 with party leader Christos Christou. Supporting a candidate from outside ELAM would not be an easy decision. It is, however, now being discussed as part of the party’s political decision to pursue a path towards power. That would have to take place within the framework of a political partnership and in light of the conditions prevailing in the wider political landscape. It is also certain that both centres of the Right will court ELAM. The broader political situation, particularly developments in the Cyprus problem, will also be decisive. All these factors will influence the decisions eventually taken, most likely from the new year onwards. Subscribe to our Newsletter Latest News Lindsey Graham, pivotal US Republican senator, dies suddenly at 71 Sirens to sound across Cyprus on 15 and 20 July 1,600 cannabinoid products seized at Larnaca airport, two arrested Fire service on heightened alert after surge in countryside blazes Two killed and four injured in shooting near Toronto salsa festival Spontaneous combustion sparks fire at Ayia Marina home Government investment in public hospitals rises to €206.7 million Follow en.philenews on Google News and be the first to know all the news about Cyprus and the world.