Кипрдегі Демократиялық Ралли партиясы

Liberal conservative political party in the Republic of Cyprus

The Democratic Rally (Δημοκρατικός Συναγερμός, ΔΗΣΥ/DISY) is a Christian democratic and liberal conservative political party in Cyprus led by Annita Demetriou. 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.

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. 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. 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.

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. The party's candidate, Nicos Anastasiades, won the 2013 presidential elections, ending five years of rule by the Progressive Party of Working People (AKEL). 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. + House of Representatives Election Votes Seats # % Rank # ± 1981 92,886 31.9 2nd new 1985 107,223 33.6 1st 7 1991 122,495 35.8 1st 1 1996 127,380 34.5 1st 0 2001 139,721 34.0 2nd 1 2006 127,776 30.3 2nd 1 2011 138,682 34.3 1st 2 2016 107,824 30.7 1st 2 2021 99,328 27.8 1st 1

+ European Parliament Election Votes Seats # % Rank # ± 2004 94,355 28.23 1st new 2009 109,209 35.65 1st 0 2014 97,732 37.75 1st 0 2019 81,539 29.02 1st 0

+Presidential ElectionsYearCandidate1st Round2nd RoundVotes%ResultVotes%Results1978Spyros Kyprianou (Democratic Party) no opponent1983Glafcos Clerides104.29433,9 Lost in first round1988111.50433,3 157,22848,4 1993130.66336,7 178.94550,3 1998158.76340,1 206.87950,8 2003160.72438,8 Lost in first round2008Ioannis Kasoulidis150.99633,51 210.19546,63 2013Nicos Anastasiades200.59145,46 236.96557,48 2018137.23135,50 215.28155,99 2023Averof Neofytou103.74826.11 Didn't qualify

No. Leader PortraitTerm of office President 1 Glafcos Clerides 1976 1993 1993–2003 2 Yiannakis Matsis 1993 1997 3 Nicos Anastasiades 1997 2013 2013–2023 4 Averof Neofytou 2013 20235Annita Demetriou2023incumbent