Publisher of Politis denies political deal with Averof Neophytou

On September 29, 2026, the publisher of the newspaper Politis, Chris Panayiotou, issued a formal statement rejecting claims made by former DISY President Averof Neophytou regarding a private dinner held roughly one month before the election for the Speaker of the House. Panayiotou clarified that the meeting, which included the newspaper's director Dionysis Dionysiou and DISY leader Annita Demetriou, was a routine professional contact rather than a political negotiation.

Averof Neophytou had previously alleged that during this meeting, an associate of Annita Demetriou suggested he would receive support for his 2028 presidential aspirations in exchange for facilitating her reelection. Neophytou maintained that he neither requested nor accepted such an arrangement. In response, Panayiotou described Neophytou's public comments as a "petty" attempt to weaponize a private conversation for his personal political campaign, asserting that it is impossible to bind a political party through a private dinner.

This incident follows ongoing political friction within the DISY party ranks. While Neophytou claims the meeting was mischaracterized by associates of Demetriou, the publisher insists that the discussion remained within the bounds of regular media-political dialogue, effectively denying the existence of any formal political agreement or "deal" regarding the 2028 elections.