NICOSIA – The socialist party Edek is calling a meeting of its 120-member Central Committee this afternoon amid reports that its President, Yiannakis Omirou, will call for its withdrawal from the government coalition.
The party has fallen out with President Christofias and ruling Akel over the handling of the Cyprus problem. Commenting on the reports, Akel’s Secretary General said yesterday that it wants the coalition to continue and invoked the ideological bonds of the two parties.
This afternoon’s Edek meeting is likely to spark a strong debate as some sections of the party do not want to leave the government, chief among them party vice president Sophocles Sophocleous.
Edek has two Ministers in the government, Communications and Works and Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environment.
Relations are also strained between President Christofias and the third ruling partner centre Diko. Asked yesterday what they will do if Edek pulls out of the government, Diko leader Marios Garoyian said that they will not be carried away by other parties’ actions but take their own decisions as they see fit.