Final message ahead of polling day

WITH the election campaign officially closing at midnight, politicians yesterday conveyed their final messages to the electorate ahead of Election Day tomorrow.
And while some chose to tone down their rhetoric, others went for the jugular, reminding people why they should not vote for their rivals.

Flanked by party cohorts, AKEL leader Demetris Christofias held a tour of old Nicosia, handing out red roses to asylum seekers gathered around Eleftheria Square.

“On this day, our wish to the people is that they vote well,” Christofias.
“Today is not about propaganda. Everyone has heard, made his or her judgment and will make their final decision.”

The communist party yesterday held a rally at Eleftheria Square, where Christofias was the key speaker.

For his part, DISY boss Nicos Anastassiades called on the public to denounce the administration when they cast their ballot tomorrow.

“Friends, with your vote, you can send a message to those who are indifferent to your daily problems, to unemployment among our youth, to the high cost of living, criminality, insecurity, the squeezing of wages, the shameful pensions…
“On Sunday you will not be voting for a change of government – you shall be sending a strong message to the powers that be that they must care and work more for you and your families,” he added.

Yiannakis Omirou, chairman of socialists EDEK, was upbeat his party would significantly increase its strength in parliament.

But DIKO’s Nicos Pittokopitis was more militant, urging Cypriots to turn their back on the forces who supported the Annan plan in April 2004.
Michalis Papapetrou, leader of the United Democrats, focused his critique on the government’s foreign policy:

“We want people to vote against inaction, to vote for an optimistic, outward-looking, European Cyprus.”
And European Party head Demetris Syllouris said called on voters to censure the “old party system” that is dominated by AKEL and DISY.

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.