He is fully ready for tomorrow’s governance of Cyprus, with the formation of a broadly accepted government, which will implement an ambitious program, says the independent candidate for the Presidency of the Republic of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulides, who submitted his candidacy at noon.
Christodoulides arrived at “Filoxenia” Conference Center, in Nicosia, where the nominations for the presidential elections were submitted, accompanied by his wife Filippa Karsera Christodoulides and his four daughters, Ioanna, Ekaterini, Despina and Phoebe-Marina. His 18-year-old daughter Ioanna is the one who proposed her father’s candidacy for the Presidency of the Republic. Christodoulides was also accompanied by dozens of his supporters and the leaders of the parties supporting his candidacy, the President of DIKO, Nikolas Papadopoulos, the President of EDEK, Marinos Sizopoulos, and the President of DIPA, Marios Garoyian.
In his statement immediately after submitting his candidacy, Christodoulides said that all these months he talked to Cypriots and listened carefully to their concerns, worries and expectations for tomorrow’s governance of the country. “On the basis of these discussions, I have drawn up, with the contribution of dozens of worthy collaborators, a modern governance program that meets the expectations of Cypriot society, which will bring about changes and reforms, improving the daily life of all the Cypriot people and giving perspective and hope to everyone”, he said.
He added that “I am particularly happy for the participation and support of thousands of our compatriots, of all ages and ideological, party and socio-economic origins from all the towns and villages of Cyprus.” “I receive daily, as the leader of this great renewal effort, the warm and sincere support of thousands of our fellow citizens, and for that reason I am especially grateful,” he said.
He added that “now is the time of the citizens. It is the time of all Cypriots, of the many and not of the few, of unity and not of exclusion.” He invited all citizens, and especially young people, to participate in the presidential elections. “We move forward together with courage and determination to put into practice what we can and deserve. We have a specific plan to achieve a better Cyprus, a reunited homeland that offers conditions of security and prosperity to all its legal residents, to all communities and religious groups,” he said.
He thanked for the support and strength he received and receives every day and said that a month before the elections we are at the starting point of a process of renewing the country, and now through the joining of forces, we are moving vigorously towards the future we deserve. A future that will be more hopeful for everyone’s children, he added.
Asked if he believes that one month before the elections it is confirmed that he holds the lead and if his goals change in the last month before the presidential elections, Christodoulides said that he is optimistic based on the opinion polls that have come to light, but in absolutely no case has the result of the election been determined. He also said that “no vote should be wasted. Until the polls close, our effort continues.”
His daughter Ioanna Christodoulides, when asked about the fact that she herself is proposing the candidacy of Nikos Christodoulides, said that it is an honor for her to have this opportunity to propose her father, someone she loves and admires a lot, as she mentioned. She said she admires him because he has values, he is capable and she feels he is a modern leader. “Even those who do not support him should know that if he becomes President, he will be a President who unites and a President for everyone and for those who support him and for those who do not,” said Ioanna Christodoulides.
President of DIKO, Nikolas Papadopoulos called on people to support the independent candidacy of Nikos Christodoulides. In statements after the process, he noted that we must “build on what can take us forward” and “focus on what unites us.” Papadopoulos said also that he understands that problems such as “inflation, the migration issue, the desperation regarding the efforts to resolve the Cyprus problem” brought frustration and bitterness to the citizens.
The next presidential elections are of particular importance in a period of serious threats against our country but also of serious social and economic impacts from the crises we have been experiencing for the last fifteen years, said the President of EDEK, Marinos Sizopoulos. In his statements, he said that “it is for this reason that what the opponents of Nikos Christodoulides consider as a disadvantage we consider as an advantage, that is, joining of forces through a constructive cooperation which may lead to formulating and adopting the best possible proposals.
In his statements President of the Democratic Party (DIPA) Marios Garoyan said that we have entered the final stretch for the presidential elections. “The challenges are great for our country, the risks but also the opportunities offered. This is not the time for hatred and passions, this is not the time for divisions, this is not the time for pettiness, this is not the time for small party political goals,” he said. He added that “times are bad, that’s why Nikos Christodoulides rightly says from the beginning that Cyprus needs unity, consensus, compositions. No one has a magic wand that can solve problems on his own, no one has the ability to magically solve everything.”
Source: Cyprus News Agency