Diko team member tried to buy me out — Lillikas

PRESIDENTIAL hopeful Giorgos Lillikas said on Tuesday that someone from the campaign team of Democratic Party (Diko) leader Nicholas Papadopoulos tried to “buy him out” so he would withdraw his candidacy.

Speaking on Astra radio, Citizens’ Alliance Movement president Lillikas said the approach to him personally was made in December, two days before the submission of candidacies for the presidential elections.

His aide Andreas Themistocleous went a step further, claiming that after these overtures to Mr Lillikas had failed, the Papadopoulos team then approached people inside the Lillikas team issuing “veiled threats” to them.

Mr Themistocleous declined to name those involved.

Papadopoulos team staffers have categorically denied the allegations.

The campaign teams of incumbent president Nicos Anastasiades and Akel-backed Stavros Malas made hay out of Mr Lillikas’s revelations, both taking the moral high ground and lamenting the “new lows” in politics set by the Papadopoulos camp.

Mr Lillikas is the second candidate to make such claims. Earlier, Elam’s Christos Christou made similar insinuations about two rival camps. Mr Christou declined to take the matter further, but said he would come back with evidence if need be.

Polls show that Mr Papadopoulos, who is backed by socialist Edek, the Green Party and the Solidarity Movement, and Mr Malas are neck-andneck to secure a place in the run-off ballot, where either will face the frontrunner Mr Anastasiades.

Mr Lillikas, whose votes will be up for grabs in a second round most likely in return for a ministerial position, is projected to garner just 2 per cent of the popular vote.

In total, nine candidates will run in the elections that will take place on January 28. All candidates pledged to reunite Cyprus and boost economic recovery, some taking sideswipes at incumbent Mr Anastasiades, while calling for change. If there is no clear winner, the vote will go to a run-off on February 4.

According to an official announcement, in total, 550,593 people are eligible to vote, of which 279,378 are women and 271,215 men.

The majority of voters — 99,779 — are between the ages of 30 and 39, the announcement said, while there are registered 9,303 young voters aged between 18 and 19. There are 115 Turkish Cypriots registered in the South Nicosia district, 235 in Limassol district, 128 in Larnaca district, 174 in Paphos district and 5 in Famagusta district.