A new era at Disy as Annita Demetriou is elected party president

“This is the Democratic Rally (Disy), united and strong,” were the first words of Annita Demetriou after she was elected the political party’s new president, having garnered 68% of the vote.

Also the House Speaker of Cyprus’ Parliament, Annita Demetriou had been running against DISY MP Demetris Demetriou in Saturday’s elections.

Commenting on the result, the outgoing president of Disy, Averof Neofytou, told his successor, "We want to promise you one thing. You don't need our advice, nor our guidance, (but you can) take our support for granted."

On his part, her opponent, Demetris Demetriou, emphasised that the first step had been taken towards closing the wounds of the past few months’ party strife and committed to continue working for Disy’s modernisation alongside the new president.

Annita Demetriou has her work cut out for her, as she is taking the reins of Disy at a time when the party is dominated by bitterness, division and blaming. After the electoral defeat of Averof Neophytou during the elections for President of the Republic of Cyprus, the faction plunged into introversion and it is expected that Demetriou's first two months at the helm will move at a similar pace, as the election of the rest of the leadership remains pending.

A decision on the rest of the leadership is anticipated to be made on 6-7 May, a process that many believe will be an informal "settling of accounts" between the so-called warring factions, after just such a thing was ultimately avoided in the presidential election.

The momentum already developed by Annita Demetriou, however, is anticipated to bode well for the party achieving its modernisation goals.

Disy currently has 17 MPs in Parliament, compared to left-wing Akel’s 15 and Diko’s nine. The other participating parties have between one and four MPs and there are also two independent MPs.

Disy has indicated it will act as an opposition, particularly since none of its members make up the new Cabinet under President Nikos Christodoulides.