British Cypriot businessman John Christodoulou said on Thursday that “my mind is with Disy, but my heart is with Akel” as he kept open the possibility of standing in the 2028 presidential election.

Speaking on Sigma, Christodoulou said the decision was difficult and could be made by early next year.

He said he neither “speaks nor thinks like a politician” and that even close friends had questioned his reasoning for considering giving up his comfortable life.

He cited his experience as a refugee, saying he left Cyprus aged nine and still feels the loss of land that belonged to his parents and grandparents.

He said, “52 years had been lost without a solution and that Turkey must return to the negotiating table”.

“I am a refugee, we need to go back to our homes, we must confront the Turk who stole our land”, he said.

He also conceded within the interview his personal limitations with the Greek language, deferring repeatedly into English and acknowledging a limited vocabulary.

The comments followed an interview on Wednesday with ANT1, in which he said he could not accept that no decision had been reached in over five decades of seeking to solve the Cyprus problem.

Christodoulou confirmed his close personal relationship with Direct Democracy leader Fidias Panayiotou but said he was also in discussions with figures from other parties.

Local media reported that Panayiotou had raised his name with party leaders, including Akel, and received no answer.

Akel secretary general Stefanos Stefanou played down speculation that the party was sounding out candidates.

Direct Democracy is also reportedly in talks with Odysseas Michaelides’ Alma party in regard to a joint candidate.

Christodoulou owns Yianis Group, which holds hotels and flats in Canary Wharf and elsewhere in Britain.

The Sunday Times Rich List 2026 puts his wealth at £2.7 billion.

In Cyprus he is active mainly through the Yianis Christodoulou Foundation, and in 2021 he was reported to be close to a £30 million takeover of Omonia football club, but talks with majority owner Stavros Papastavrou reportedly collapsed.

His British business affairs have drawn scrutiny, for in 2012 hotel companies in the group went into administration, costing him a Manchester Marriott and a Park Inn near Heathrow.

In 2022 he reportedly admitted to a tribunal that residents at 1 West India Quay had been overcharged by 26 per cent on utilities.

In March 2024 the UK government began legal action seeking £20.5 million from his companies towards fixing unsafe blocks at Canary Riverside.

Disy has marked 95 years since the October uprising of 1931, describing the revolt as “a significant milestone in Cyprus’ anti-colonial struggle”.

The party said Cypriots should honour those who “stood tall against colonialism” while demanding freedom and self-determination.

It said historical memory “set a duty to continue the struggle for a free, reunified Cyprus, free of occupying forces and anachronistic guarantees”.

The uprising, known in Greek as ‘Oktovriana’, began on October 21, 1931, and lasted until early November.

The revolt was led by Greek Cypriots who sought Enosis (union) with Greece and is regarded as the most intense rebellion Britain faced between the two world wars.

On the opening day some 5,000 Cypriots, mostly students, priests and city notables, rallied in Nicosia chanting pro-Enosis slogans.

The crowd besieged the old government house, which was subsequently set on fire.

In September, governor Ronald Storrs blocked a legislative council decision to halt tax rises meant to cover a budget deficit, and Greek Cypriot members resigned.

On October 18, bishop Nikodemos of Kition urged civil disobedience until demands for Enosis were met.

The grievances went back further, as Greek Cypriots objected to an education act aimed at curbing Greek influence in schools and to a new penal code that permitted torture.

A memorandum seeking Enosis, presented in London in 1929 to colonial secretary Lord Passfield, was rejected.

Britain responded with force, sending 150 troops flown in from Cairo, and warships including the cruisers Shropshire and London arrived at Limassol, with a destroyer sent to Paphos.

Seven protesters were killed, ten were exiled for life and more than 2,600 received punishments ranging from prison terms to fines for sedition.

British authorities accused Alexis Kyrou, the Greek consul general in Nicosia, of instigating the revolt; he was dismissed, and Storrs was transferred to Northern Rhodesia.

The colonial administration then abolished the legislative council and municipal elections, and gave the governor power to appoint mukhtars and district judges.

Promoting Enosis and flying the Greek flag was banned, as was any assembly of more than five people.

Censorship hit newspapers, particularly left-wing titles, with the period of draconian rule that followed becoming known as ‘Palmerocracy,’ after governor Richmond Palmer, and lasted until World War II.

Averof Neophytou, who has turned Disy upside down in the pursuit of his presidential ambition, announced on Wednesday that he would stand in Monday’s election for the party candidacy. This was not the original plan of the former party leader, who, a couple of weeks earlier, said he would not take part in the party selection process and instead stand as a candidate.

If Neophytou carried out his threat, he would have split the Disy vote and ensured that neither he nor the party’s presidential candidate would advance to the second Sunday run-off. Faced with this prospect, party leader Annita Demetriou, who had announced her plan to stand and set a date for the vote, decided to withdraw, for the sake of safeguarding party unity. She had also come under pressure from a small but influential group not to stand.

With Demetriou out of the way, Neophytou decided to play by the party rules. He will not follow the example set by Nicos Christodoulides in 2022 as he had threatened to do a few weeks ago, forcing Demetriou into the rash decision of setting a date for the party elections. This was a big mistake, although Demetriou calculated it was the best way to sideline Neophytou, especially if he snubbed the party election.

Neophytou is now favourite to defeat Pamborides and win the title of Disy presidential candidate, but this will not be the end of the party’s problems. It was given an idea of what to expect last week when Neophytou publicly urged President Nikos Christodoulides to call for an end to EU sanctions on Russia so that the supply of petrol on the world market would increase and the price of fuel would come down.

It was crude populism, as Neophytou is smart enough to know this would never happen, but it undermined the party which, as a member of the European People’s Party, is fully aligned with the sanctions policy of the EU. This was the reason it felt obliged to issue an announcement to clarify that it supported EU sanctions on Russia. Without wanting to, the party sided with the president against the man who could be its presidential candidate.

Disy is now staring at the embarrassing prospect of its presidential candidate, assuming Neophytou wins on Monday, promoting policies that the party disagrees with. Presumably, the man who will be candidate will confer with the party leadership about his campaign programme. This is the problem of having a presidential candidate who is not the party leader. Who would follow who?

There is still a very long way to go until the presidential elections and there could still be some surprises down the road. What would Neophytou do if, against all odds, he is defeated by Pamborides on Monday?