Diko leader Nicholas Papadopoulos on Sunday night promised to “unite the centre-right” after his party stemmed its losses at the election to a single parliamentary seat, having been forecast a much worse result in pre-election opinion polls.

The party retained eight of its nine pre-election seats, and Papadopoulos declared of this result that “what Diko has achieved under these circumstances is a feat”.

“The pre-election period was dominated by an environment of toxicity and protest. Tonight’s result sends a signal of danger for society,” he said, though he remained bullish about his own party’s results.

“To those who discounted us, to those who doubted us, tonight, we want to introduce ourselves to them. We are all Diko,” he said, before adding that his party is “the only party of the centre in the new parliament” which will “maintain a crucial … role in the country’s political life”.

He did, however, lament what he described as a “devaluation of politics” and an “extreme questioning of institutions” – something which he said “must concern us all”, before offering an olive branch to “all voters from the centre who have been disappointed by today’s results”.

“From tomorrow, Diko will immediately take the initiative to unite the centre-right space. The voice of the centre and all democratic forces will not be lost. A new beginning is getting started for the reorganisation of this space, and we promise all together that the centre will soon be here, united and strong,” he said.

He then thanked those who voted for his party, saying that “their trust honours and moves us”, and adding that “from tomorrow morning, we will roll up our sleeves again and begin the effort to build together a strong Diko, a strong centre, and, most importantly, a better tomorrow for our Cyprus”.

“Cyprus deserves more and Diko will continue to fight for this Cyprus of ours,” he said.