Members of conservative Disy, which had been the ruling party in Cyprus for the past ten years, are heading to the polls today to elect a new leader.
Vying for the position of party president are House Speaker Annita Demetriou and Disy spokesman Demetris Demetriou.
Polls in 76 locations in Cyprus opened at 9 am and will close at 6 pm. Also, three polling stations opened in Athens, Thessaloniki and London. They will close at 4 pm (local time).
Around 52,000 party members have a right to vote in the election.
The election was called after Disy leader Averof Neofytou lost his bid to become Cyprus’ next president in the February 2023 elections.
The party has faced turmoil, after the current President of the Republic, Nikos Christodoulides – who was a Disy member – announced he was running as an independent against Neofytou, thus splitting the party vote.
Although Neofytou initially announced he would run for re-election, he eventually opted to withdraw, leaving the stage for the two Demetrious to battle it out for the party’s top job.
