Democratic Rally
Democratic Rally Δημοκρατικός Συναγερμός Demokratik Seferberlik | |
---|---|
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Abbreviation | DISY |
President | Annita Demetriou |
Deputy President | Efthimios Diplaros |
Vice Presidents | Savia Orfanidou Georgios Karoullas |
Founder | Glafcos Clerides |
Founded | 4 July 1976 |
Preceded by | EK[1] DEK PP |
Headquarters | Nicosia, Cyprus |
Think tank | ONEDISY |
Student wing | PROTOPORIA |
Youth wing | NEDISY |
Women's wing | GODISY |
Membership (2022) | 50,660[2] |
Ideology | |
Political position | Centre-right[3] |
European affiliation | European People's Party |
European Parliament group | European People's Party |
International affiliation | Centrist Democrat International International Democrat Union |
Colours | Blue |
House of Representatives | 17 / 56 |
European Parliament | 2 / 6 |
Municipal Councils | 140 / 443 |
Website | |
www | |
The Democratic Rally (Greek: Δημοκρατικός Συναγερμός, romanized: Dimokratikós Sinagermós, ΔΗΣΥ/DISY) is a Christian-democratic[4][5] and liberal-conservative[6] political party in Cyprus led by Annita Demetriou.[7] The party was founded on 4 July 1976 by veteran politician Glafcos Clerides. Two leaders of the party have served as presidents of Cyprus, Clerides from 1993 until 2003 and Nicos Anastasiades from 2013 to 2023.
From 11 March 2023, the leader of the party is Annita Demetriou, who also serves as the president of the House of Representatives since June 2021.[8][9]
Overview
Founded in 1976, DISY's logo is the Nike of Paionios. It is a member of the European People's Party (EPP). In the 2014 European Parliamentary Election it elected 2 MEPs, who joined the EPP Group.
DISY serves a widely diverse spectrum of voters, ranging from hard-line Greek Cypriot nationalists and anti-communists to humanist liberals with post-materialist and post-modern values who advocate human rights.[10] DISY's platform focuses on free enterprise economic policies, lower direct taxes and higher indirect taxes, economic development, opposing government deficits, investments in infrastructure, and a practical solution to the Cyprus dispute (though the party base is traditionally more hawkish and hard-line than the party leadership). It is the most explicitly Atlanticist and pro-NATO of Cyprus's parties, and draws its support from middle-class professionals, businessmen, and white-collar employees.[11]
The leadership of the Democratic Rally is generally less hard-line than the party base, and in 2004 supported the Annan Plan for the re-unification of Cyprus, believing that further adjustments could be made afterwards. Following the Plan's overwhelming rejection by the Greek Cypriot Community, four MPs (Sillouris, Prodromou, Erotokritou, Taramoundas) who had opposed the party line were expelled and a number of members willingly resigned. The expelled MPs formed a party called European Democracy. In 2005 European Democracy merged with New Horizons and created European Party. Former party president Yiannakis Matsis headed a splinter coalition called For Europe in the European Parliamentary Election. Matsis gained a seat in the European parliament, also joining the EPP group (while still remaining a member of DISY).
In 2013, Nicos Anastasiades of the Democratic Rally, was elected as the President of Cyprus. In 2018, President Anastasiades was re-elected tor a second term with a wide margin over his communist opponent.[12]
Election results
Parliament
In the legislative elections of 21 May 2006, the party won 30.52% of the popular vote and 18 out of 56 available seats, and in the legislative elections of 22 May 2011, the party won 34.27% of the popular vote and 20 out of 56 available seats.[13] The party's candidate, Nicos Anastasiades, won the 2013 presidential elections, ending five years of rule by the Progressive Party of Working People (AKEL).[14] In the legislative elections of 2016, the party won 30.68%, taking 18 seats in the parliament and remaining the party with the largest representation.[15]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5c/Annita_Demetriou_visits_Ireland%2C_June_2023_01_%28cropped%29.jpg/220px-Annita_Demetriou_visits_Ireland%2C_June_2023_01_%28cropped%29.jpg)
Election | Votes | Seats | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
# | % | Rank | # | ± | |
1981 | 92,886 | 31.9 | 2nd | 12 / 35 |
new |
1985 | 107,223 | 33.6 | 1st | 19 / 56 |
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1991 | 122,495 | 35.8 | 1st | 20 / 56 |
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1996 | 127,380 | 34.5 | 1st | 20 / 56 |
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2001 | 139,721 | 34.0 | 2nd | 19 / 56 |
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2006 | 127,776 | 30.3 | 2nd | 18 / 56 |
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2011 | 138,682 | 34.3 | 1st | 20 / 56 |
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2016 | 107,824 | 30.7 | 1st | 18 / 56 |
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2021 | 99,328 | 27.8 | 1st | 17 / 56 |
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European Parliament
Election | Votes | Seats | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
# | % | Rank | # | ± | |
2004 | 94,355 | 28.23 | 1st | 2 / 6 |
new |
2009 | 109,209 | 35.65 | 1st | 2 / 6 |
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2014 | 97,732 | 37.75 | 1st | 2 / 6 |
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2019 | 81,539 | 29.02 | 1st | 2 / 6 |
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2024 | 91,316 | 24.78 | 1st | 2 / 6 |
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Presidential elections
Year | Candidate | 1st Round | 2nd Round | Elected | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Votes | % | Result | Votes | % | Results | ||||
1978 | Spyros Kyprianou | ![]() |
no opponent | ![]() | |||||
1983 | Glafcos Clerides | ![]() |
104.294 | 33,9 | 2nd place | Lost in first round | ![]() | ||
1988 | 111.504 | 33,3 | 1st place | 157,228 | 48,4 | 2nd place | ![]() | ||
1993 | 130.663 | 36,7 | 2nd place | 178.945 | 50,3 | 1st place | ![]() | ||
1998 | 158.763 | 40,1 | 2nd place | 206.879 | 50,8 | 1st place | ![]() | ||
2003 | 160.724 | 38,8 | 2nd place | Lost in first round | ![]() | ||||
2008 | Ioannis Kasoulidis | ![]() |
150.996 | 33,51 | 1st place | 210.195 | 46,63 | 2nd place | ![]() |
2013 | Nicos Anastasiades | ![]() |
200.591 | 45,46 | 1st place | 236.965 | 57,48 | 1st place | ![]() |
2018 | 137.231 | 35,50 | 1st place | 215.281 | 55,99 | 1st place | ![]() | ||
2023 | Averof Neofytou | ![]() |
103.748 | 26.11 | 3rd place | Didn't qualify | ![]() |
Party leaders
No. | Leader | Portrait | Term of office | Key Events | President | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Glafcos Clerides
(1919-2013) |
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1976 | 1993 | 1993–2003 | ||
2 | Yiannakis Matsis
(born 1933) |
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1993 | 1997 | |||
3 | Nicos Anastasiades
(born 1946) |
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1997 | 2013 |
|
2013–2023 | |
4 | Averof Neofytou
(born 1961) |
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2013 | 2023 | |||
5 | Annita Demetriou
(born 1985) |
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2023 | incumbent |
See also
References
- ^ Neofytos Loizides (2012). Transformations of the Greek-Cypriot and Turkish-Cypriot Right: Right-wing Peace-makers?. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 186. ISBN 9780230338548.
{{cite book}}
:|work=
ignored (help) - ^ "Κύπρος: Δημητρίου εναντίον Δημητρίου για την ηγεσία του ΔΗΣΥ". gr.euronews.com (in Greek). 11 March 2023. Archived from the original on 11 March 2023. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
- ^ Neophytos Loizides (2015). Challenging Partition in Five Success Stories. I.B. Tauris. p. 181.
{{cite book}}
:|work=
ignored (help) - ^ Nordsieck, Wolfram (2021). "Cyprus". Parties and Elections in Europe.
- ^ Slomp, Hans (30 September 2011). Europe, A Political Profile: An American Companion to European Politics. ABC-CLIO. p. 690. ISBN 978-0-313-39182-8. Retrieved 22 August 2012.
- ^ "Appendix A3: Political Parties" (PDF). European Social Survey (9th ed.). 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2022-12-31. Retrieved 2021-10-11.
- ^ OmegaLive (2023-03-11). "Εκλογές ΔΗΣΥ: Σαρωτική νίκη Αννίτας - Τα ποσοστά". OmegaLive. Retrieved 2023-03-11.
- ^ Newsroom (2023-03-11). "Κύπρος: Νέα πρόεδρος του ΔΗΣΥ η Αννίτα Δημητρίου". Documento (in Greek). Retrieved 2023-03-19.
{{cite web}}
:|last=
has generic name (help) - ^ "House of Representatives - Οι Πρόεδροι της Βουλής των Αντιπροσώπων από το 1960 έως σήμερα". 2021-07-04. Archived from the original on 2021-07-04. Retrieved 2023-03-19.
- ^ Giorgos Charalambous (2015). The Party Politics of the Problem. p. 50.
{{cite book}}
:|work=
ignored (help) - ^ "Cyprus - Political Parties". Retrieved 2 April 2016.
- ^ "Cyprus country profile". BBC News. October 19, 2020.
- ^ "Republic of Cyprus — Parliamentary Elections 22 May 2011 — OSCE/ODIHR Election Assessment Mission Final Report" (PDF). Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe. 7 September 2011. Retrieved 12 June 2021.
- ^ "Greek Cypriots elect Nicos Anastasiades as president". the Guardian. February 24, 2013.
- ^ Kambas, Michele (May 22, 2016). "Cyprus parliamentary vote puts far-right in parliament". Reuters – via www.reuters.com.
Further reading
- Neophytos Loizides (2012). Transformations of the Greek-Cypriot and Turkish-Cypriot Right: Right-wing Peace-makers?. Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 185–201. ISBN 9780230338548.
{{cite book}}
:|work=
ignored (help)
External links
- Official website
- Nedisy.org, Youth branch
- Democratic Rally
- Political parties established in 1976
- 1976 establishments in Cyprus
- Christian democratic parties in Europe
- International Democracy Union member parties
- Liberal conservative parties
- Political parties in Cyprus
- Member parties of the European People's Party
- Pro-European political parties in Cyprus