The Alma Movement – Citizens for Cyprus has launched an attack against the government regarding the appointment process for parastatal organizations. The Movement alleges that 21 of the 95 people appointed had not even submitted an application, while also arguing that the role of the Advisory Council is being undermined and the principles of meritocracy and transparency are being circumvented.
The announcement in its entirety
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
In June 2023, the Christodoulides government announced with great fanfare the creation of the Advisory Council for appointments to parastatal organizations. As with the establishment of the Independent Anti-Corruption Authority, the Advisory Council’s powers and staffing were not adequate, and although the first appointments made in 2024 revealed peculiar ties between the selected individuals and the Presidency, it was, in any case, a start.
The government’s instructions were absolutely clear: If the Council of Ministers selected a person not on the Advisory Committee’s list, “that decision must be fully justified.” Appointing someone who had not even submitted an application—and thus had not been evaluated—would obviously be unthinkable. That, at least, was the official line.
In April 2026, the same government once again called on hundreds of citizens to believe that, at last, something had changed in Cyprus and to participate in what it called an “open and transparent process,” which was supposedly intended to establish “a more open model of governance.”
In the meantime, however, DIKO had a different view.
A few weeks before the appointments, the Secretary-General of DIKO publicly stated that even individuals who had not even applied should be eligible for appointment. And the government was quick to reassure us at the time that the process would be followed “to the letter.”
Now we understand who persuaded whom and in exchange for what.
The initial allegation that people who hadn’t even applied were appointed sounded unbelievable. Is it possible that they have no sense of shame? And yet it is true: 21 of the 95 appointees were brought in through the back door! They were spared the trouble of even submitting an application! Our own kind shouldn’t have to bother with procedures meant for those heretical commoners!
Needless to say, the famous “full justification” is ignored. It was, in any case, just a fig leaf. Now, even that is superfluous.
Is the government aware of how it is making a mockery of even the meager procedures it has itself established? Are they not ashamed at all?
Any trace of institutional seriousness was cast aside when, in addition to appointing to Cyta a person with obvious conflicts of interest, a parliamentary aide to a DIKO MP—who is also the General Secretary of GODIK and a member of DIKO’s Central Committee—was appointed to RIK.
We are not questioning anyone’s qualifications; that is not the issue. We are asking the obvious question: Does the government understand what independence and impartiality mean for public broadcasting?
And one more thing.
The members of the Advisory Council are distinguished individuals who agreed to serve without pay in an institution that was presented to them as a reform based on meritocracy and transparency. The Christodoulides government has turned them into a decorative alibi for the worst kind of cronyism. We call on them, with the utmost respect for them as individuals, not to accept this degradation of the institution they were called upon to serve. They must not become a convenient prop for a government that does not respect their role.
Nikos Christodoulides was elected in 2023 on a promise to change the practices of the past. The fiasco surrounding the appointment of ministers and members of quasi-governmental organizations does not constitute the failure of a reform. It constitutes a betrayal of the citizens who believed that something would change. Shame and disgrace!
