Movement for Social Democracy

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 
Movement for Social Democracy
 
Image:Edek.jpg
 
Leader Yannakis Omirou
 
Founded 1970
Headquarters Nicosia, Cyprus
 
Ideology Socialist (centre-left)
International affiliation Socialist International
European Parliament Group PES
 
Website
http://www.edek.org.cy//

The Movement for Social Democracy (Greek: Κίνημα Σοσιαλδημοκρατών) is a social-democratic political party in Cyprus. It is led by Yannakis Omirou.

In the 2001 general elections it won 6.5% of the votes case and 4 of the 56 seats in the House of Representatives of Cyprus. In the elections of 21 May 2006, the party won 8.9 % and 5 out of 56 seats. It is a member of the Party of European Socialists.

The party was founded by Dr Vasos Lyssaridis in 1970 with the name EDEK. Members were drawn from the committee for re-establishment of democracy in Greece, and fighters from Lyssaridis's group during the 1964 clashes between Greek and Turkish Cypriots. The party supported president Makarios III and a lot of its members were part of the armed resistance to the 15th July 1974 coup against him. The leader of the youth section of the party, Doros Loizou, was shot and killed in an attempt to murder Lyssaridis himself in August 1974.

Several members of the party's youth section (EDEN) with Trotskyist tendencies were expelled between 1979 and 1984 and formed Aristeri Pteryga (Left Wing).

EDEK backed Dimitris Christofias of AKEL in the second round of the February 2008 presidential election. On the proposal of EDEK's Political Bureau, 109 members of its Central Committee voted in favor of supporting Christofias, five voted against, and two abstained.[1]

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Cyprus Socialists supports Christofia’s candidacy", Financial Mirror, February 21, 2008.

[edit] External links