AKEL’s main goal in the upcoming 2028 presidential election is “the progressive change that will result from the united effort of those forces that believe in a new direction for the country and society, based on a common progressive program and, of course, through victory in the elections,” said AKEL General Secretary Stefanos Stefanou on Wednesday, as he welcomed the presentation of the volume “Studies on the History of the Left in Cyprus. 100 Years of the KKE-AKEL” in Nicosia.
Referring to AKEL’s relationship with power, he said that the chapter that began with the Left’s presidency in 2008 remains open, “even though experience has shown that in the world we live in—which is dominated by institutions, policies, and the power of big capital— a Left-led government faces major challenges and dilemmas that are difficult to address without the collective effort and unity of the progressive forces in the country,” he said.
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He spoke about AKEL’s ability “to shape a political agenda with broader goals that resonate with the sentiments and moods of society, which constitutes the objective basis for cooperation,” recalling EMEKEL (Unified Front of Workers and Employees of Limassol) in 1943 and, later, in 1948, the EAS (National Liberation Coalition), which was active until 1953.
“AKEL’s relationship with the government began in 1962, when, by a decision of its 10th Congress, it critically supported Archbishop Makarios without claiming any participation in the government and without setting any conditions beyond the defense Cyprus’s independence,” noted Mr. Stefanou. “Subsequently, AKEL moved to a phase in which it made the agreement on a programmatic framework for governance a precondition for supporting any candidate, as was done with the Minimum Program in 1983, when it supported Spyros Kyprianou, and in 1988 with Giorgos Vassiliou,” he continued.
He went on to note that “the next stage in the development of the party’s relationship with the government was AKEL’s participation in a governing coalition—and, indeed, with its own officials—in the government of Tassos Papadopoulos,” and that “this entire process culminated in the independent bid for the Presidency of the Republic by the party’s General Secretary, Dimitris Christofias, which—as is well known—was successful.”
Mr. Stefanou concluded by saying that “the Left must be attuned to the needs of society, steadfastly defend workers, democracy, peace, and other universal values, join forces, and transform demands into collective action.” He added that “AKEL’s history shows that change is not granted, but is achieved through organization, perseverance, participation, and consistency in principles and vision.”
He also expressed warm thanks to the Prometheus Research Institute for its decision to publish the volume “Studies on the History of the Left in Cyprus. 100 Years of the KKE-AKEL,” as well as to Associate Professor Michalis N. Michael of the University of Cyprus, who edited the volume, and to Chrysostomos Pasiardis and Sotiroula Giassemi.
He noted, moreover, that “this volume fills a large part of the gap that exists regarding the scholarly documentation of AKEL’s history. I hope this effort will continue and that scholarly research will cover even more aspects of the party’s century-long history.”
