MP Sykas left off Disy ballot amid domestic violence probe

Disy on Monday officially announced that MP Nikos Sykas, who had recently been accused of domestic violence by his wife, would be expelled from the party’s ballot for the upcoming parliamentary elections.

“The Politburo in today’s session decided to adopt the recommendation of the Executive Office for the non-inclusion of MP Nikos Sykas in the ballot for the upcoming parliamentary elections,” the party wrote in a statement.

Sykas’ parliamentary immunity was lifted by the Supreme Court following a request from the Attorney General, to allow his interrogation in connection with a case involving alleged violence against his partner.

The MP’s wife had filed a complaint with the Limassol police shortly after the beginning of the new year, alleging that her husband physically abused her while the couple was staying at a hotel in Greece on New Year’s Eve.

The MP has so far denied the allegations in a Facebook post.

“I categorically deny the complaint, as well as the insinuations made against me,” he wrote.

In response to the allegations, Disy president and House Speaker Annita Demetriou said her party maintained a zero-tolerance stance on violence.

“(…) We fully respect justice and the presumption of innocence, but the investigation must be carried out immediately,” Demetriou wrote in a post on X.

She called for Sykas’ removal from the party’s ballot, stressing that violence of any kind, and especially violence against women, was incompatible with the values of Disy.