Clerides sets deadline for decision, as Diko and Edek talk

By Aline Davidian

PRESIDENT Clerides said yesterday he would announce whether he was standing for re-election by November 15.

He was speaking on arrival at Larnaca airport on his return from the Commonwealth Heads of Government Conference in Edinburgh.

The reason for the delay in announcing his candidacy was due to developments in the Cyprus problem, he said. But other factors such as his health and popularity remained favourable, he added.

Clerides said that he would be meeting soon with Diko leader Spyros Kyprianou to put forward his intentions. When asked what he thought of the possible candidacy of Alecos Markides, he replied it did not bother him as it was within the latter’s rights.

Meanwhile, a Diko-Edek alliance may yet be possible according to statements made yesterday by spokesmen of both parties.

The alliance had been proposed on Wednesday by Diko deputy, Nicos Moushiouttas, who had called on both party leaders to start negotiations during the count-down for the presidential elections.

Andreas Costantinou, Diko Press officer, said yesterday that an “open dialogue” with Edek did not mean Diko would drop the candidacy of Spyros Kyprianou.

The aim was to “generate an alliance leading to a national solution”, he said.

“It was not impossible for things to show, things such as… a referendum,” that either leader could “embody the aims of both parties,” thereby attracting the vote of those previously with other political loyalties, said Costantinou.

Edek General Secretary, Marinos Sizopoulos expressed his party’s readiness “to receive a formal proposal for an alliance by Diko”. Time, however, was running out, he said and dialogue would only be worthwhile if it could give results.

“Proposals for a dialogue should not be on terms clearly unacceptable to Edek – such as the sole candidacy of Kyprianou,” said Sizopoulos.

Asked whether Edek might abandon the candidacy of Lyssarides, Sizopoulos said his party had already made large compromises and would aim for a successful collaboration.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.