Papadopoulos sole candidate for new Diko president

Ten years after he first took on the post, Diko president Nicholas Papadopoulos on Tuesday was the only party member to register his candidacy to lead the party after elections next month.

Papadopoulos has led the party since 2013, following in the footsteps of his father, Tassos Papadopoulos, who was president of the Democratic Party between 2000 and 2006.

The younger Papadopoulos said it was an “honour” to have led the party for the last 10 years.

He claimed his party has “had as its utmost priority the defence of the Republic of Cyprus and the demand of a right and workable solution to the Cyprus problem”.

The party, he added, “held Cyprus on its European course”, and “supported the middle class to the greatest possible extent”.

Diko, he said, had recently “starred” in the presidential election in February, saying that the party is now “a pillar of the government”.

He concluded by saying that “I am once again running for the presidency of the Democratic Party in order to continue to serve its people, its values, and its positions”.

Alongside the party’s presidency, Diko’s 20,000 members will vote on July 9 to elect various high-level positions, including deputy chair, for which incumbent Christiana Erotokritou is the sole candidate.

There are four candidates for the party’s three vice presidential roles and two for the role of general secretary, while Fytos Konstantinou is the sole candidate for the role of general organiser.

A total of 27 people have registered their candidacy for the 15 seats on the party’s executive board.