There may still be 14 months to go until the presidential elections, but we already have two confirmed candidates, one who is subject to his party’s endorsement early next year, one who has expressed his intention to stand without finalising it and one who is engaged in a covert campaign while refusing to say anything in public.

On Thursday we received a public assurance from President Anastasiades himself, that he would not be standing in 2023. It was not the first time he had said this, but there had been rumours, probably without substance, that he could change his mind. “The only thing certain is that I would not be running again,” he told journalists when asked if he knew whether anyone else, apart from those who made their intentions clear, would be standing.

A day earlier, Disy leader Averof Neophytou, said he would be seeking the nomination of his party that will make its decision at an electoral congress in March, assuming there was more than one person seeking the nomination. It is no secret that Disy decided to bring forward its procedures for selecting a candidate as a way of forcing foreign minister Nicos Christodoulides, who has been quietly campaigning, to come clean about his intentions.

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The foreign minister is keeping his cards close to his chest, even though there have been reports Anastasiades had sounded out former foreign minister, Ioannis Kasoulides, about the possibility of returning to the ministry as Christodoulides will not be able hold on to his post, once he finally declares his intention to stand. Christodoulides has refused to stand down, arguing that he had not made up his mind about the elections yet, a claim that should be taken with a pinch of salt, given his actions.

There has been no such prevarication by the other presidential candidates, who would be standing as independents and hoping to secure the support of a political party in the run-up. Three lawyers are the independents so far. Marios Eliades, who has no party affiliations, and Giorgos Colocassides who was a former Diko deputy chairman have said they would stand while Achilleas Demetriades, who has no links to any party, has expressed an interest is and is speaking at public gatherings, without finalising his decision.

Two of them (not Colocassides) will be hoping to secure the backing of Akel, which has not even begun discussing the elections. It is highly unlikely the party will be backing Stavros Malas for a third successive presidential election, and therefore could decide to support one of the independents already standing. It might even be Christodoulides, who will have no choice, in the end, but to stand as an independent, as it is extremely unlikely, he would contest the Disy nomination.