The pre-election landscape is being finalized as we are one step ahead of the announcement of the fourth person to fill the frame of the main contenders for the Presidency. Attention is focused on Hezekiah Papaioannou and his chosen AKEL.
The three main contenders are already known: Nikos Anastasiadis, who did not announce but is already working on a pre-election plan, Nikolas Papadopoulos, who has already announced, and George Lillikas, who will announce his candidacy tomorrow.
The fourth candidate will be the choice of AKEL. The party of the Left proceeded to sew the suit of the candidate before officially entering the discussion of names.
Although Nikos Anastasiadis has not made public his intention, all his moves and actions lately reinforce the view that he will be a candidate and for many even the first favorite for the first round race.
The apparent wreck in the negotiations essentially paved the way for the pre-election period. Nikos Anastasiadis, due to the uncompromising attitude of the other side and the behavior of Mustafa Akinci in the past, now presents a tougher line regarding his positions in the Cyprus issue.
It is obvious that he wants to collect the dissatisfied voices of the most "patriotic" within DISY. At the same time, it further strengthens its line, raising the glove of the challenges it receives from AKEL.
At the same time, however, it maintains and strengthens the bridges of communication with groups of DIKO voters. The appointment of Vassilis Palmas as Deputy Minister in addition to the President in the last mini-reshuffle was a move that shows that Nikos Anastasiadis wants to keep open the pool of votes from DIKO, not only to strengthen his own candidacy but also to weaken his candidacy President of DIKO.
It is recalled that in addition to Vassilis Palmas, Fotis Fotiou holds the position of Commissioner of the Presidency, Athena Kyriakidou is appointed to the Education Service Committee and Nestoras Nestoros is appointed to the position of head of the Greek Cypriot side in the CMP.
Nikolas Papadopoulos has already officially entered the pre-election battle, carrying the dynamics of the support of three parties and with the prospect of cooperation adding another part.
He presents himself as the official candidate of the so-called intermediate space and, exercising strong criticism both against Nikos Anastasiadis and DISY, as well as against AKEL, he presents himself as the third pole and the alternative solution.
He strongly proposes the need for a change of strategy in the Cyprus issue, investing not only in the dissatisfied supporters of the two major parties but also in general in the disenfranchised but disappointed citizens from the DISY and AKEL policy in the Cyprus issue.
It also maintains open channels with dissidents from the Citizens' Alliance, hoping for their open or behind-the-scenes support that will add even more momentum to advance to the second round of elections. There he expects that with an opponent Nikos Anastasiadis will get the big share of the lion from the AKEL voters, regardless of the official stance of their party.
George Lillikas is so far the third of the race. Despite the internal party disagreements he had for his candidacy, he is moving forward vigorously, proposing the percentage he received in the 2013 Presidential elections.
The president of the Citizens' Alliance addresses a new call to the people, proposing the anti-memorandum policy of the movement, in contrast to the position taken by DIKO in Parliament during the voting of the memorandum bills.
He also proposes the new strategy on the Cyprus issue and emphasizes the need for a vote of the GESS, wanting to show his disagreement with EDEK.
Three in the short list of AKEL
The final list of possible candidates of AKEL includes three names. Hezekiah Papaioannou's executives are a sphinx in terms of the names and content of yesterday's debate in the Politburo on the presidential election.
The information, however, states that finally yesterday the short list of the party with the possible candidates was completed. This includes three names, including a former party official, but also non-partisan. Among them are names that saw the light of day.
They officially refer to the party's announcement, in which it is noted that the Politburo has started the discussion on the political profile of the candidate, a discussion which will continue in the next session.
"Through the fermentations and investigations carried out by the Party leadership, there are possibilities for AKEL to have a candidacy that meets all the conditions to win the presidential elections. "For the continuation of the efforts for reaching a solution to the Cyprus problem that will liberate and reunite our country and our people on the basis of the ICC", the announcement states, among other things.
Source: Liberal