By Martin Hellicar
PROMINENT Diko rebels dug in their heels yesterday and refused to comply with a party decision to back George Iacovou for next month’s presidential elections.
They now face expulsion from Diko when the party executive committee meet to discuss their position today.
Party vice-chairman Dinos Michaelides, Diko deputies Alexis Galanos and Katerina Pantelidou and central committee member Petros Voskarides have drawn the wrath of the party by openly opposing the decision to join Akel in backing Iacovou. Galanos has gone one step further, announcing his own candidacy for the February 8 polls, and appealing for the votes of Diko followers who would rather back a candidate from within the party.
Earlier this week, the party executive committee informed the four dissenters they had till yesterday to come into line. They would otherwise be ostracised, the committee warned.
Galanos wasted no time in making it clear his decision was final.
Pantelidou had already stated she would “conform” with the party decision “despite” her own thoughts on the matter. But yesterday she re-stated her disaffection with the way her party was approaching the elections.
Michaelides – the man whose defiance is seen as the most damaging to the Diko election campaign – not only repeated his opposition to Iacovou yesterday but said he believed he spoke for most of the party in doing so.
“The majority of followers, members and friends of Diko disagree with the central committee decision (to back Iacovou),” he said in a letter to the executive committee, released yesterday morning. He said the committee had been given “no alternative” but to choose Iacovou as candidate.
Diko plumed for Iacovou after failing to secure Disy support for the candidacy of Diko leader Spyros Kyprianou and failing to convince Attorney- general Alecos Markides to stand as an independent candidate with Diko’s backing.
“I am sorry to have to repeat that the way the party has handled the election issue was totally wrong,” Michaelides said in the letter. Michaelides repeated his position that Diko should be backing a candidate from within the party, such as Kyprianou.
Michaelides said that his backing Iacovou would be tantamount to accepting that the policy of the Clerides government – for which he served as Interior Minister until Diko abandoned its government coalition with Disy late last year – had been wrong.
“I refuse to accept a compromise decision that would force me to accept that the policy I supported as minister was incorrect and dangerous,” Michaelides stated.
Iacovou has consistently slammed President Clerides’ policies in an effort to beat him in the polls.
Michaelides made no secret of his displeasure at Diko leaving the coalition and his having to abandon the cabinet post Clerides had given him.
Voskarides also yesterday released the letter he had sent the executive committee. He stated he was not prepared to review his position. Voskarides said the alliance with Akel was “self-evidently” dangerous and based on the “worst possible” compromises.
The central committee member gave his backing to Galanos’ candidacy.
Kyprianou’s response to the rebels was blunt: “if certain members really do feel strongly that they cannot agree with such an important party decision they should have the decency to withdraw (from the party).”
He dismissed suggestions that Diko might change tack at the last minute and decide to back Galanos.
Meanwhile, the rest of the electoral scene was yesterday dominated by the now-customary exchange of fire between Iacovou and Clerides’s mouthpiece, Government spokesman Manolis Christofides.
Iacovou attacked Clerides’ handling of the Cyprus problem, while Christofides said Iacovou was guilty of saying first one thing, then the opposite concerning his policy on the government’s order for Russian-made S- 300 missiles.
