New political party to hold first founding conference on Sunday

By Evie Andreou

Dimokratiki Parataxi (Democratic Front) which was formed by Diko dissidents earlier in the year has announced that it would be holding its first political-founding conference on Sunday morning.

The conference will be held at the state fair grounds in Nicosia, where the party’s political and ideological declaration will be formulated, as well as its political proposals.

The party also said that “the rules for a modern political structure will be formulated to ensure its day-to-day functioning as well as the preparation of the first Regular and Electoral Conference.”

The logo of Dimokratiki Parataxi (DiPa) will also be presented.

The party invited everyone “who wish a new start” for Cyprus, to attend.

DiPa was formed by former Diko members who were either kicked out of the party last February for not supporting its leader, Nicolas Papadopoulos, who was a candidate in the presidential election, or who decided to leave the party following the mass expulsion of senior members.

Among those expelled from Diko was its former leader, Marios Garoyian.

“The six months or so that have passed have enabled a fruitful, honest and open dialogue with hundreds of friends and supporters,” DiPa said in an announcement.

It added that the pre-conference dialogue focused on the responsibilities, role, mission and tasks of the DiPa, stressing the need for the party “to engage in politics with prudence and responsibly”, ensuring conditions for national understanding and social consensus.

The name – Dimokratiki Parataxi – was the one Diko had used in the 1976 parliamentary elections when it had cooperated with Akel and Edek.

Despite numerous reports that the Diko dissidents were in the process of establishing a new party under that name, Garoyian had not confirmed this information.

He did say that was in consultations with people who felt that the empty spot in the moderate political centre needed to be filled and he did not rule out the possibility of creating a new party if and when conditions allowed.

The conference will start at 10.30am.

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.