The proposal of Averof Neofytos for the election of assistant president was commented on the front page by the vice president of DISY, Haris Georgiadis.
Asked about the criticisms received by the presidential candidate after his proposal, he replied that "I'm glad that we provoked, that we gave the trigger. Even if someone disagrees it is legitimate. We are contesting these elections not so that Averov can satisfy his personal ambitions, but because we have positions and opinions, we want to do things. We are happy if it provokes a discussion, a dialogue around our own suggestions".
He added that "Averof's proposal did not come out of nowhere. Through the pre-conference dialogue that we started, we formulated a clear general, but clear position. That perhaps the time has come for a very ambitious constitutional revision. A proposal for political modernization was made. We have as a starting point doubt whether it is appropriate to have one-person authorities with too many powers. Perhaps we should discuss collective institutions. We think we have to make the political move."
However, he admitted that "a revision of the Constitution is not in the hands of either a government, a President or a party. A broad consensus in Parliament is required. We must conduct the dialogue with seriousness and documentation, listen to the lawyers. I do not accept absolute legalistic explanations, that nothing can be done. We should engage in dialogue with seriousness and evidence. I don't accept, it's not our position, it's not even Averov's position that nothing can change. Some examples were given regarding the proposal. We stirred the stagnant waters around an issue. Why don't we discuss it, I'm not saying we're going to change the polity but why not discuss it. It is politics for us to touch on such issues."
In remarking that the "knowledge of DISY is Nikos Christodoulidis", he replied that "three main candidates have stood out. Neither Mr. Mavroyiannis as an AKEL candidate can be a reliable choice, nor can Mr. Christodoulidis together with Nikolas Papadopoulos, Marinos Sizopoulos and Eleni Theocharous be an equally reliable proposal. I wonder how they will come to an agreement either pre-election or post-election, which is why it is difficult for him to come forward in the public debate."
Regarding the polls, he replied that “we can disprove them again. Without underestimating the difficulties of these elections. They are more difficult than 2013 and 2018 where our candidate had a clear lead. That is why we have indeed developed an intense effort to communicate with the citizens and communicate something important: Averof Neofytou is the right and necessary president at this time, compared to the other candidacies".
In fact, he claimed that "Nikos Christodoulidis does not have an upward trajectory, but I see that the gap is closing. There is no widening of the lead. It lacks momentum, the momentum is acquired by the candidacy of Averof Neophytos".