What led AKEL to impose the same penalty on the former Limassol MP as had been imposed on Nikos Katsouridis
The party’s Limassol District Committee imposed the penalty of indefinite expulsion from AKEL on former MP Costas Costas, bringing an end to the long-standing crisis in relations between the two sides.
The decision was made unanimously in early October, following a report drafted by the Central Audit Committee, which is responsible for investigating violations of the party’s bylaws and recommending disciplinary sanctions. Three weeks later, the decision had not been communicated by Ezekia Papaioannou.
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
When asked by “Alpha tis Kyriakis” to confirm the matter, the former member of parliament merely stated that he had been informed of the decision by phone earlier this month, emphasizing, however, that he would not be making any further statements on the matter.
The Timeline of the Rift
Kostas Kostas was first elected to parliament at the age of 40 in 2011. He was described, even by his political opponents, as hardworking and consistent in fulfilling his parliamentary duties. These qualities appear to have been appreciated by voters in Limassol, who re-elected him twice more. In fact, in the 2021 elections, he took first place in the rankings, with 6,212 first-choice votes.
His relationship with the AKEL leadership had its ups and downs. However, his decision to resign from the party’s Central Committee in May 2022 due to his disagreement with AKEL’s decision to support Andreas Mavroyiannis in the presidential election, appears to have irreparably strained relations between the two sides. AKEL officials claimed at the time that the MP had not been involved in the election campaign, citing health issues, which he later discussed publicly, noting that he had been forced to remain confined to his home.
The conflict between the MP and the party intensified in September 2025, when the AKEL Central Committee exempted Giorgos Loukaidis and Aristos Damianou from the three-term limit, allowing them to run for re-election. Costas Costa disagreed with the decision, considering it unfair and publicly expressing his disappointment, as he believed he could have been included among the exceptions and run for a fourth term in Parliament.
It should be noted that, based on the interpretation given to this specific provision of the party bylaws, the exemptions apply to officials who belong to the political core of AKEL, a category to which Costas Costa did not belong, as he was not a member of the party’s senior collective bodies.
The Possible New Candidacy
Odysseas Michaelides’ strong interest in having the MP join the ticket of the then-newly formed ALMA, as well as the public statements by the former Auditor General, forced Kostas to publicly and categorically reject the proposal he had accepted. Pending the Central Committee’s decision, the MP made it clear that he was not interested in running as a candidate for any other party or political movement.
Days later, his exclusion from the party’s ballot sparked a variety of comments in political circles. Kostas Kostas’s public statements that he was receiving encouragement from citizens to run as an independent candidate in Limassol sparked new speculation. The longer he delayed in denying them, the more Ezekia Papaioannou’s frustration intensified, pushing their relationship to the breaking point.
Public Accusation
A month after the parliamentary elections, and after AKEL officials in Limassol accused him of failing to participate in the party’s election campaign, Costas Costa fired back.
Speaking on a Lemesos TV podcast in June, the former member of parliament denounced an organized smear campaign, the spreading of slanderous rumors, and targeted attacks against him by specific AKEL officials. As he claimed, these officials were spreading baseless rumors about violence against his wife, with the ultimate goal, according to him, of damaging his personal and political credibility.
The grounds for expulsion
The imposition of indefinite expulsion on Kostas Kostas followed complaints filed against him with AKEL and examined by the party’s Central Control Committee. This body, which is elected by the AKEL Congress, investigates, among other things, possible violations of the Party Constitution, the Rules of Procedure, and the decisions of the Congress; assigns responsibility, and recommends disciplinary sanctions to the competent body that decides on their imposition.
According to information confirmed by AKEL, the report drafted by the Committee concluded that Costas Costa engaged in a series of anti-party and anti-constitutional behaviors that undermined the party’s prestige.
As provided for in the party bylaws, the Limassol District Committee has already begun informing the Party Grassroots Groups about both the decision and the reasons behind it.
Authoritative sources, speaking to “Alpha on Sunday,” emphasize that Costas Costa, as a member of the Limassol District Committee, was summoned—as was his right—to appear before the committee and defend himself. Something which, they claim, he failed to do.
The Background of the Penalties
Depending on the severity of the offenses for which they are found guilty, the following penalties may be imposed on AKEL officials and members:
– A reprimand or a reprimand with a warning,
– Removal from party offices,
– Prohibition from running for party office or public office on the Party’s ticket in one or more elections, and
– Temporary expulsion, indefinite expulsion, or expulsion from the party.
In addition to Kostas Kostas, the penalty of indefinite suspension had previously been imposed on Nikos Katsouridis, the once-powerful figure of the Left and the party’s long-time Parliamentary Spokesperson. In May 2015, the Central Committee of AKEL adopted the recommendation of the Central Audit Committee, in the wake of revelations regarding the Dromolaxia case, which had further damaged the party’s already tarnished image.
Five years later, the case of former MP and parliamentary representative of the party, Yiannos Lamaris, was different. In June 2020, the Central Committee unanimously decided to strip him of all his party positions, because he had failed to repay the lump-sum payment he owed the party following his departure from the Parliament in 2016.
The lump-sum payments from party officials are deposited into a special fund, which is used to supplement the pensions of low-income party employees who have never held public office. According to reports, Kostas Kostas also does not intend to return his share of the funds to the party, a factor that appears to have weighed in the decision to “expel” him.
