INCUMBENT Tassos Papadopoulos has snubbed a proposed debate between the three main presidential candidates, to be organised by the University of Cyprus.
The planned debate, which is to be nationally televised, aims to break new ground by having the candidates take questions from the audience, which will include faculty and students from the university, in a format similar to events in the United States and Europe.
The topic? Everything under the sun.
Letters of invitation were sent out more than a month ago to the staffers of the three main presidential hopefuls. The initial response from the Christofias and Kasoulides camps was positive.
The Mail has learned that the Tassos Papadopoulos side at first did not bother to reply to the invitation. University organisers tried again this week, and their invitation was politely declined.
The precise reasons for the refusal are not clear, although it is understood that Papadopoulos has already committed to two live debates organised by the press.
As the Mail understands it, the reply from Papadopoulos has been met with frustration in the university, which for months now has been trying to get the show on the road.
“To be fair, though, one is not obliged to accept an invitation,” a source close to the event commented.
Despite the setback, the university has not scrapped the idea, and is currently in consultations with the representatives of the two remaining candidates.
Kasoulides has reportedly given the thumbs-up to a one-on-one with Christofias; the latter has asked until Monday to get back to the university.
“This is a great opportunity to have a different kind of debate, one that is academic in style, where the candidates are forced to elaborate on their positions, without resorting to the usual blame game,” the source said.
So far TV channel Sigma has shown interest in carrying live the debate; Mega and Antenna are expected to answer by next week.
CyBC has said it cannot take part, because it has already submitted its schedule for the candidates’ airtime to the Broadcasting Authority.
Papadopoulos’ cold shoulder has not gone down well with Proodeftiki, a student union affiliated to communist AKEL.
The union released a statement yesterday saying it was “greatly disappointed” with the news.
“His [Papadopoulos’] refusal is perhaps indicative of his weakness to present a concrete vision for the younger generation… In our view, it is inconceivable that the President should refuse to participate in a dialogue,” the union said.
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