A victory for George Pamboridis in the Disy leadership contest would reverse the “fait accompli” created through “unacceptable blackmail and pressure”, former finance minister and Disy heavyweight Haris Georgiades said on Tuesday.

Speaking on Omega TV, Georgiades said he did not expect everyone to agree with him, but that “events had made it impossible” for him to take an active part in Neophytou’s campaign.

Georgiades gave two reasons for his position, firstly that Neophytou’s conduct over threatening to run a possible independent candidacy was used as “a form of blackmail”.

The second was the outcome that followed, which he said left the party facing a settled situation “it had not chosen freely”.

Related Articles

He said he informed Disy leader Annita Demetriou of his view on the day she withdrew from the race for Disy presidential candidate, leaving Averof Neophytou and George Pamboridis to face off for the nomination on November 28.

He also said he “wanted to be honest about 2023, when some people presented themselves as supporters of Neophytou’s presidential bid while acting differently in practice”.

“I know this firsthand and I could not do something similar and pretend,” he said.

Neophytou, then Disy leader, finished third in the first round of the 2023 presidential election with about 26 per cent of the vote, behind Nikos Christodoulides, a former Disy member and foreign minister under outgoing president Nicos Anastasiades, who went on to win the runoff against Andreas Mavroyiannis.

While Anastasiades never publicly endorsed Christodoulides, it was widely understood at the time that he and other senior party figures favoured him over their own candidate.

Georgiades has offered to resign as chairman of the Glafcos Clerides Institute, Disy’s affiliated think tank.

He said he wanted to “make matters easier” for the leadership and had put himself at its disposal.

He also criticised party figures who had publicly signed the candidacy of Neophytou, Pamboridis or Demetriou but were privately leaning towards supporting President Nikos Christodoulides.

Demetriou has herself rejected claims that she was blackmailed into stepping aside by Alithia publisher Frixos Koulermos, calling them “slanderous”.

Asked about the upcoming internal vote, Demetriou said Disy hoped for “a strengthened candidacy that will be able to convince the public”.