Independence Path to contest general elections but field no local candidates

Independence Path (BY) will take part in the general elections on 6 December but will not field candidates in the local elections, according to a written statement by its Party Assembly. The party called on the public for “a federal Cyprus, a decent wage, a unionised working life, public-focused policies” and urged people to “build the power of working people.”

The statement said local elections would suffer most from being held alongside the general vote and would be overshadowed by it. It argued that the unanimous decision of all parties in the Assembly to hold both elections together harms the public and benefits the regime. Because it lacks the means to run both campaigns at once, the party said it will concentrate its resources on the general elections.

The party said local candidates do not match the core principles of its programme, so it will support none of them. Members and sympathisers have been left free, but members are barred from promoting any candidate or party. The party said it knows the capitalist order cannot be changed through elections alone.