Volcano ready to erupt EDEK - The next day and the presidential elections

The Social Democrat Movement EDEK is divided and weakened in the battle of the presidential elections, with the months-long internal party controversy that broke out last July on the occasion of an investigation into the party's finances that is raging until today. Since then, several fronts have been opened, with many executives and members of the Movement turning against EDEK president Marinos Sizopoulos, who seems to be winning the battle of political survival, after being re-elected to the party leadership for another five years, without even a rival. Enough time for executives close to Marinos Sizopoulos to establish themselves in the party leadership.

Failed to come back

The failure of the dissatisfied executives of the Movement to prevail in the party is due to the fragmentation of the internal opposition, the absence of a unified opposition to the members and a commonly accepted leader who would be able to unite all the forces that react against the leadership. The coming back of George Barnabas, who tried to represent the opposition within the Movement and claim the presidency of the party, sparked an unprecedented mud war that forced him to withdraw his candidacy. After all, he was not embraced by all those who reacted against the leadership.

Nor have the public interventions of historians and leaders, such as those of Giannakis Homer and Doros Theodoros, succeeded in creating any momentum in the fragmented camp of the internal opposition.

The removal of MEP Dimitris Papadakis in early 2020, with the consent of party officials who are currently opposed to Marinos Sizopoulos, deprived the internal opposition of a dynamic and charismatic figure who could lead the controversial movement. It also created serious rifts within the party that prevented a strong front capable of bringing about change.

Shyness

The predominance of the two MPs of the party, Kostis Efstathiou and Elias Myrianthous, contributed to the predominance of Marinos Sizopoulos, to take dynamic action from the first stages of the conflict, leaving a political conflict to turn into time-consuming court disputes, with caused confusion among EDEK members and voters. Of course, the fear of division and the need for compromise solutions acted as a deterrent and did not allow any of the first-class leaders of the internal opposition to come forward. Even today, the executives who demand the change, out of party patriotism, do not even think about the possibility of leaving EDEK and founding a new party.

In the courts

< p>At this stage, there are two ongoing legal disputes between the leadership of the Movement and party officials that raise the issue of altering the Register of Members. The first concerns the annulment of the outcome of the Conference in the province of Nicosia after an appeal by Andrian Odysseus who claimed the chairmanship of the provincial committee and the comparison of the Register of Members kept by the former secretary of the Central Committee Michalis Terepheos with the one Credentials.

The second case concerns a lawsuit filed by the former secretary of the Central Committee, Michalis Terepei, against the leadership of the Movement, regarding the comparison of the two Members' Registers. The one he kept as the custodian of the Register from his position as secretary of the Central Committee and the one submitted by the president of EDEK to the Credentials Committee, which the plaintiff claims was altered by irregular – replacement registrations and deletions of members. The substance of this case concerns the dismissal of Michalis Terepeis from the position of secretary of the Central Committee and whether the president of EDEK had the right to maintain a Register of Members.

European Parliament

Another legal dispute is underway regarding the decision to remove MEP Dimitris Papadakis from the Disciplinary Council. In fact, information from Mr. Papadakis's environment states that “there may be a dynamic reaction of the European Parliament for violating the immunity of the MEP and for blackmailing him to illegalize and execute an agreement imposed on him by EDEK, which was deemed illegal by the national EU Court (Nicosia District Court) because it is contrary to the rules of the European Parliament “.

Background

The appeals to the courts of EDEK executives and the successive annulment decrees, either of the provincial elections or of the Electoral Congress, led the party president to submit a bill to the Parliament to amend the Law on Political Parties, so that the decisions of the collective bodies political party, which are taken in accordance with the provisions of its statutes, are not subject to judicial review. A move that provoked the strong reaction of many EDEK executives, who even accused DISY of pre-election conspiracies.

Eventually it became clear from the reactions that the bill of Marinos Sizopoulos could not pass the plenary session of the Parliament and, according to information from “P”, it was decided at the level of leaders to withdraw silently. Besides, EDEK MP Kostis Efstathiou had prepared an amendment which in essence annulled the proposal of Marinos Sizopoulos.

With this proposal, the president of EDEK wanted to anticipate the time milestone of May 6, when the term of the leadership ended, according to the statutes of the Movement. That is, to amend the Law on Political Parties in order to convene an Electoral Congress without the fear of any legal action that might lead to a new postponement decision.

New reactions

Although the president of EDEK finally managed to proceed to an Electoral Conference with the disputed Register of Members last weekend, the atmosphere within the party worsened even more, with two of the four MPs of the Movement (Kostis Efstathiou and Elias Myrianvos) firing Sizopoulos with their public statements, accusing him of trying to turn EDEK into a small shop and a Limited Liability Company. While the Initiative Group for Salvation and Reorganization of EDEK, in its announcement for the 14th Pancyprian Congress of the party, spoke about the “most shameful page in the history of EDEK”.

Presidential

Given the deepening internal conflict and rift, it is considered difficult until impossible for EDEK to reach a joint decision in support of a presidential candidate in the 2023 presidential elections. Instead, it tends to become a pool of voters for to catch votes from the most fragmented and divided party in the political system.

Giorgos Kolokasidis has the opportunity to catch votes from EDEK, who expresses the hardest line in the Cyprus issue and is framed by former executives of the Movement who have the ability to influence anti-federal Edekite voters. Like the independent candidate Marios Iliadis, who in the past was a member and supporter of EDEK, and therefore has some support within the party.

Even if the President of the Movement concludes collaborations with other opposition parties through the ongoing dialogue, his potential to influence the vote of the EDEK people in this climate of controversy by first-class executives, MPs and members, are now limited. Therefore, there will be a leak of votes to the AKEL candidate, but also to Nikos Christodoulidis, if he finally announces his candidacy.

There may also be a leak of votes to DISY, which maintains the image of a good ship owner after the improvement of the financial situation of the state under its own government. This is something that many EDEK voters take seriously, who saw their incomes increase after the reduction caused by the financial catastrophe.

The next day

Source: politis.com.cy

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