DIKO having a hard time finding high-profile Euro-candidates
“WHO WANTS to spend the next five years in Brussels?” is the biggest question currently facing the Democratic Party (DIKO) which will decide today on the six candidates to run in the upcoming Euro-elections.
Some DIKO members yesterday accused the new party leadership of not taking enough interest in the election for Members of the European Parliament (MEPs).
The party has spent the last three days debating who will make it on the party list, after the Executive Bureau failed to come up with a clear proposal for the Central Committee on Monday.
Instead, the Bureau postponed the decision until today when it will give the Central Committee a list of the final six to run for seats in the European Parliament this June.
In the meantime, two DIKO officials called on the party leadership to get serious and show some interest in Brussels, referring, among others, to new vice president Nicolas Papadopoulos, deputy president Georghios Colocassides and general secretary Kyriacos Kenevezos.
Paphos Mayor Savvas Vergas highlighted that while the new leadership showed plenty of zeal during the internal party elections, they were now reluctant to put forward their candidacy for the Brussels ticket.
“It’s not possible that certain officials who were very active in the party elections now show this lack of interest,” said Vergas.
The Mayor called on the leadership to ensure that high profile members get on the party list for the Euro-elections to guarantee at least one of the six MEP seats reserved for Cyprus.
“It’s not possible to be discussing other names (for the list) when high profile names are not in the battle that we all consider to be crucial,” he added.
Alecos Tryphonides, head of DIKO’s Nicosia District branch, echoed similar sentiments, noting: “We see a huge reluctance from the new leadership.”
Tryphonides said that when the issue was raised during Monday’s meeting, the high profile members in question replied that they were voted by the people to stay in Cyprus, not go live in Brussels.
“It is unthinkable that the Executive Bureau is not showing interest to enhance the party list. We got the answer that they were voted to stay in Cyprus. It’s unthinkable that Brussels is not included in the deliberations of DIKO,” he said.
Party spokesman Fotis Fotiou confirmed yesterday that at least two known names were being considered for the MEP platform, referring to head of the House Finance Committee Antigone Papadopoulou and Health Minister Christos Patsalides.
He added that all party officials were at the disposal of the party president to choose, along with members of the community that were not necessarily connected to DIKO.
Along with DIKO, the European Party (Evroko) will also be announcing its party list for the Euro-elections today. According to reports, some of the names on the list might include Nicos Koutsou and Riccos Erotocritou.
Last but not least, the Greens will announce their Euro candidates tomorrow. The list may include former Green party leader Georgios Perdikis.
There are 525,000 registered voters for the June elections, including 1,300 Turkish Cypriots, 5,000 EU nationals, and for the first time ever, 10,000 overseas voters.
