Tension rises in Diko wranglings

DIKO general-secretary Stathis Kittis yesterday said disciplinary action against party vice president Dinos Michaelides would not begin until after the presidential elections.

Michaelides has incurred the wrath of the Diko leadership for openly criticising its decision to back presidential candidate George Iacovou.

The former interior minister has issued a Friday ultimatum to his party to reconsider its decision to bring him before a disciplinary committee.

Kittis said yesterday Michaelides had openly allied himself with independent Diko rebel candidate Alexis Galanos in the first round, and with Disy-backed Glafcos Clerides in the second.

Kittis said the delay in the convening of the disciplinary committee was due to new evidence of more serious breaches of party rules by Michaelides, requiring closer committee attention.

Such evidence included attempts made by Michaelides supporters to sway Diko members to vote for Clerides, Kittis claimed.

Galanos yesterday lashed out at Diko’s treatment of its vice president, saying members of lower rank than Michaelides should show him due respect; a “medieval mentality” prevailed in the party, he said.

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