Disy vice-president Yiannis Karousos on Tuesday rejected a proposal by former president Nicos Anastasiades for a preliminary agreement between the party and President Nikos Christodoulides, calling it a “message of defeatism”.

Anastasiades told an ANT1 podcast that Disy and Christodoulides should agree now that whichever fails to reach the 2028 presidential run-off will back the other against an Akel-backed candidate.

Speaking on Alpha TV, Karousos said such a notion “should not even be discussed”, arguing that such messages amounted to “conceding defeat in advance”.

Karousos declined to disclose his own preference, in order to “maintain party unity”.

He said the leadership’s task was to ensure everyone backed the grassroots choice, and that anyone who did not support the eventual candidate should leave.

“The door of Disy is there and they can get out,” he remarked.

Disy will decide on Novemeber 28 whether former party leader Averof Neophytou or MP George Pamporidis will be its presidential candidate.