AKEL sets conditions for supporting a candidate in Cyprus presidential election
AKEL General Secretary Stefanos Stefanou in Cyprus outlined the conditions under which the political force may support a candidate in the 2028 presidential election. During an event marking the party’s 100th anniversary, he stated that AKEL would not support a contender for whom resolving the Cyprus issue on an agreed basis and within agreed frameworks would not be a priority, Cyprus Mail reports.
Conditions for supporting a candidate
Stefanou also rejected supporting a candidate who, in his words, would serve the current model of governance, in which indicators are placed above citizens’ needs. He added that the party would not consider a candidacy that would serve the interests of a few and preserve corruption and the intertwining of interests which, according to the AKEL secretary general, accompanied the governments of Nicos Anastasiades and Nikos Christodoulides.
Stefanou did not name a specific contender for the 2028 election. At the same time, he said the party is working to create a broad social movement for progressive change. Former presidential candidate Andreas Mavroyiannis, whom AKEL supported in the 2023 election, attended the anniversary event.
In the second round of that election, Mavroyiannis won 48% of the vote and lost to Nikos Christodoulides. In the first round, he received 29.6% of the vote.
More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.
Criticism of the government and AKEL’s history
In his speech, Stefanou criticized the authorities over energy, water supply, waste management and corruption. In his view, the country faces significant risks in areas requiring long-term planning. He also claimed that the two most recent governments had not made the necessary infrastructure investments in time and had not introduced the required measures.
The Communist Party of Cyprus was founded in 1926 to counter the exploitation of workers and achieve the island’s independence from British colonial rule. In 1941, figures from the underground communist movement established the Progressive Party of Working People — AKEL, and in 1944 the Communist Party of Cyprus merged with it.
AKEL became one of the island’s largest political forces. Its former leader Demetris Christofias won the 2008 presidential election with 53.4% of the vote in the second round, becoming the first AKEL leader to hold the presidency.
