Newsroom
George Pamborides said he and Averof Neofytou should have been the ones to step aside in DISY’s presidential nomination race, rather than party leader Annita Demetriou, as he criticized the turmoil surrounding the contest.
Speaking on SPORT FM 95.0’s “Diaspora News,” Pamborides said nobody could be pleased with recent events in the Democratic Rally.
“All this does not do us credit,” he said.
His comments come after Demetriou withdrew from the party’s internal selection process for the 2028 presidential election, leaving Pamborides and Neofytou pursuing the nomination.
Pamborides stressed that withdrawing was Demetriou’s own decision. He said he had tried to persuade her to stay, arguing that if anyone should pull out, it should be him and Neofytou.
Despite that position, he made clear that he now intends to remain in the contest until the end.
For DISY members, that leaves a difficult task: choosing a presidential candidate through a contest that is already testing the unity the party says it needs to win.
Pamborides argued that DISY has the strength to return to the presidency, provided it rallies behind someone capable of bringing the party together.
“DISY can win the elections. It has everything it needs to achieve that, as long as we go united and with a candidacy that will unite the party,” he said.
He also expressed certainty that DISY would reach the second round of the presidential election, a political prediction, rather than an outcome anyone can guarantee.
Presenting his own bid, Pamborides said he represents something new.
The challenge now is to convince members of that while helping repair the divisions he has publicly criticized. Demetriou’s withdrawal has narrowed the field, but the debate over who can unite DISY is clearly far from settled.
