By Ifigenia Theodoridou

Cabinet members in President Nikos Christodoulides’ government were ousted from Disy on Saturday after a majority vote among party members.

In a party conference to decide Disy’s next steps, party leader Annita Demetriou said she had personally called those affected ahead of time to inform them that the matter would be put to vote.

Following the decision, Interior Minister Constantinos Ioannou, Transport Minister Alexis Vafeades, Deputy Shipping Minister Marina Hadjimanoli, Deputy Tourism Minister Costas Koumis and government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis have been kicked out of the party.

This was not an act of vengeance, Demetriou stressed, but a necessary step the party had to take for the party’s cohesion.

“We don’t need to make a bigger deal of this than it really is,” she said.

The party leader added it was paradoxical that a minister, deputy minister or government spokesman “issues statements against a party it is a member of.”

“The participation of Disy members in a government that the party does not support muddies the perception of our political identity in the eyes of the world and weakens the clarity of our political message.”

She said the decision would affect party members in the executive arm of the government, not those in semi-government positions.

More so, they would be more than welcome to sign back up to the party if they so wish after their terms have finished, Demetriou added.

“My own political ethics mandated that [the individuals] would be informed in advance and not through news reports about a proposal that concerns them,” she added.

Asked if any individuals tried to ask not to be struck off, Demetriou said that had not been the case.

Disy is a party that when in government acts responsibly and with a “clear political identity,” she added. “When in opposition, we do it seriously, with realistic proposals,” she said.

It was time to uphold a 2018 decision to ensure that all MPs will have a maximum of three terms in parliament, an issue discussed this week in parliament, the party leader added.

But she said she did not wish for the focus to be “on all the negative things” but the unity that holds the party together, as well as the fact that Disy will now allow 17-year-olds to sign up to the party, e-voting, and better representation in all districts, following cabinet approval last week of voting rights for people of that age.

“These things for us are steps forward.”

Christodoulides himself was struck off the party’s list of members in January 2023 after he filed his candidacy for the presidential elections as an independent.