AFTER 24 straight years with Spyros Kyprianou at the helm, the DIKO party yesterday chose a new party leader in Tassos Papadopoulos.
Papadopoulos was declared president-elect of the party Kyprianou founded in 1976 after no other candidate was submitted for the post.
Sixty-eight-year-old Kyprianou had announced his decision not to stand for re-election to the party presidency some months ago and Papadopoulos had been odds-on favourite to succeed him.
Contenders for all leadership posts within the centre-right party had to be submitted at the DIKO headquarters in Nicosia by 1pm yesterday.
“There were more than one candidates for all positions except for that of party president, where there was only one: that of Tassos Papadopoulos,” DIKO general secretary Andreas Erotokritou announced shortly after the submission deadline had passed.
“According to the party constitution, Tassos Papadopoulos is now considered to have been elected to the position of president of the party,” Erotokritou added.
Papadopoulos, who is the DIKO parliamentary spokesman, will officially take up his duties as party leader after the DIKO electoral conference on October 7 and 8.
Kyprianou’s replacement represents the end of an era for the country’s third largest party. Kyprianou – who was President of the Republic between 1977 and 1988 and is currently House president – has always been synonymous with DIKO.
But the veteran’s position within the party has increasingly come into question recently as DIKO lost ground and support.
In the 1985 parliamentary elections, DIKO won 16 seats in the 56-member House, the second largest haul. But the party won only 10 seats in the May 1996 elections. Despite Kyprianou’s insistence to the contrary, polls suggest the party has lost further ground since then.
Kyprianou announced he would not be standing for re-election earlier this year and was not available for comment yesterday.
An afternoon meeting of the DIKO executive committee was cancelled, reportedly because Kyprianou was unwell.
Papadopoulos was quick to pay tribute to Kyprianou yesterday. He also spoke of a “new era” for the party.
“First of all, I want to express my appreciation and thanks to the president of the party who, through his decision not to seek re-election, allowed a smooth succession to the party leadership and set the foundations for a greater regrouping and effectiveness for the DIKO party,” he said.
“After the conference, we want to begin new era for DIKO, building on what we have.”
Former Minister Papadopoulos is a well-respected deputy with a reputation for not always towing the party line.
Reports following Kyprianou’s announcement of his decision not to stand for the party leadership suggested Kyprianou was pushing for his son, DIKO deputy Marcos, to succeed him. But Kyprianou Junior was nowhere to be seen as candidacies were submitted yesterday, and the word was that he would now be seeking to succeed Papadopoulos as DIKO parliamentary spokesman after the May 2001 parliamentary elections.
The candidates for the DIKO deputy leadership are deputies Nicos Cleanthous and Stathis Kittis. There are eight men contesting the three party vice-presidency posts: Nicos Pittokopitis, Zacharias Poulias, Aristos Chrysostomou, Fotis Fotiou, Costas Petrides, Michalakis Kyprianou (no relation), Andreas Erotokritou and Nicos Papadopoulos.
Andres Angelides and Antigoni Papadopoulou are contesting the general secretary post and Vasilis Palmas, Fitos Constantinou, Makis Tsouloupas and Costas Kortas are vying for the position of party organisational secretary.
