The Progressive Party of Working People (, AKEL; ) is a Marxist-Leninist party in Cyprus.

AKEL is one of the two major parties in Cyprus, and it supports a federal solution of the internal aspect of the Cyprus problem and it places particular emphasis on rapprochement with the Turkish Cypriots. It supported entry into the European Union with certain reservations. Initially supportive of the Annan Plan in 2004, the AKEL ultimately opposed the plan because the UN Security Council did not provide guarantees on post-reunification security.

As a strong supporter of welfare benefits and nationalization, AKEL successfully put into practice several social measures to support the economic welfare of Cypriots during the Great Recession, such as increasing low pensions by 30% and strengthening the welfare benefits given to university students to €12 million per year. Overall, €1.2 billion were spent on welfare benefits during the first three years that AKEL was in power, with various improvements made in social welfare provision. The party has been in opposition since the 2013 election. The party's candidate was defeated in the 2018 presidential election against the incumbent president. For the 2023 presidential election, the party supported independent candidate Andreas Mavroyiannis, who was also defeated.

History It was founded in 1926 with the name (KKK; , ). The communist party set as its aim not only the struggle against exploitation, but also the independence of Cyprus from British rule. The party became illegal in 1931 when the British colonial government-imposed restrictions on civil rights following the Cyprus revolt riot. In 1941, leading members of the underground communist party and others founded the Progressive Party of Working People (AKEL). In the first municipal elections in 1943 (before that mayors were appointed) AKEL candidates became mayors of Limassol (Ploutis Servas) and Famagusta (Adam Adamantos). At the 5th KKK congress in November 1944, the KKK and AKEL united into one party, the KKK was merged into AKEL.

Unlike its predecessor, AKEL was not against Enosis. Instead, AKEL supported a gradual process, starting off with a constitution and self-government, while Cyprus would remain a colony, leading to self-determination and Enosis. After the failure of the consultative assembly in 1949 to grant a constitution acceptable to the Cypriot members, AKEL changed line, supporting immediate Enosis with no intermediate stages.

During the late 1950s, AKEL was opposed to the violent tactics followed by the anti-British resistance movement of EOKA. EOKA accused AKEL of being collaborators with the British, even though AKEL had also been illegal since 1955. Several AKEL members were assassinated by EOKA at the time for being "traitors", including AKEL supporter Savas Menikou, who was stoned to death. AKEL denounced EOKA's leadership as being anti-communist, as its leader George Grivas had fought against the communist side during the Greek Civil War. Grivas later founded EOKA B, which supported the 1974 coup d'état following his death.

About 1958, the Turkish Cypriot nationalist organization TMT started forcing Turkish Cypriots members of AKEL to leave. Editor of a workers' newspaper Fazıl Önder was killed and the head of the Turkish bureau of PEO (AKEL's trade union) Ahmet Sadi moved to the UK to save his life.

In the first presidential elections for independent Cyprus, AKEL backed Ioannis Kliridis (father of Glafkos Klerides) against Makarios III. The last Turkish Cypriot to be a member of the central committee of AKEL, Derviş Ali Kavazoğlu, was killed by TMT in 1965.

In the mid 1960s the U.S. State Department estimated the party membership to be approximately 10,000 (3.25% of the working age population).Benjamin, Roger W.; Kautsky, John H. "Communism and Economic Development", in The American Political Science Review, volume 62, number 1, March 1968, page 122.

Recent history

At the legislative elections on 27 May 2001, the party won 34.7% of the popular vote and 20 out of 56 seats. After this election, AKEL's General Secretary, Dimitris Christofias, was elected as President of the House of Representatives, serving in that post until 2006. His election was supported by AKEL, Movement for Social Democracy (EDEK), and the Democratic Party (DIKO).

AKEL is a member of the European United Left - Nordic Green Left political group in the European Parliament, and it is considered to be moderately Eurosceptic. Cyprus joined the EU in 2004, and in the 2004 European parliament election, AKEL elected two members (Adamos Adamou and Kyriacos Triantaphyllides).

AKEL remained the largest political party in the 2006 Cypriot legislative election; however, the party lost two seats, winning 18 seats with 31.31% of the vote.

In the second round presidential election held on 24 February 2008, Dimitris Christofias, General Secretary of AKEL, was elected President of Cyprus. Christofias won 53.36% of the vote against his right-wing opponent Ioannis Kasoulidis' 46.64%.

On 21 January 2009, Andros Kyprianou was elected general secretary of the party with 54.3% in the central committee election.

In the 2009 election to the European Parliament, AKEL received 34.9% of the votes, and again elected two out of Cyprus' six members (Kyriacos Triantaphyllides and Takis Hadjigeorgiou). In the 2014 election, they held their two seats with a reduced 27% of the vote.

In the 22 May 2011 legislative election AKEL received 32.67% of the votes, and elected 19 out of the 56 members of parliament.

In an interview with Athens News Agency, party leader Andros Kyprianou said that AKEL was considering Cyprus' exit from the eurozone, saying, "It is an option on the table", but that it will require "study and planning".

In the 2013 presidential election, Stavros Malas, who was supported by AKEL lost by a margin of 42.52% to 57.48%. In the 2018 presidential election, conservative president Nicos Anastasiades won a second five-year term with 56 percent of the vote. The AKEL-backed independent candidate, Stavros Malas, lost the election with 44 percent.

In 2016 legislative election AKEL was the second largest party with 25.7 percent of the vote, 7 percent less than the previous election.

Niyazi Kızılyürek was elected to the European Parliament in 2019 for AKEL, making him the first Turkish-Cypriot to enter the European Parliament and thus breaking what was considered a taboo on the island. AKEL advocates the creation of a federal state in which Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots would live together.

Youth

The party's youth wing is the United Democratic Youth Organisation, which was founded in 1959.

Election results

Parliament

+ House of Representatives Election Votes Seats # % Rank # ± 1960 51,719 35.0 2nd new 1970 68,229 34.1 1st 4 1976 With DIKO and EDEK 0 1981 95,364 32.8 1st 3 1985 87,628 27.4 3rd 3 1991 104,771 30.6 2nd 3 1996 121,958 33.0 2nd 1 2001 142,648 34.7 1st 1 2006 131,237 31.1 1st 2 2011 132,171 32.7 2nd 1 2016 90,204 25.7 2nd 3 2021 79,913 22.3 2nd 1202688,77723.92nd 0

European Parliament

+ European Parliament Election Votes Seats # % Rank # ± 2004 93,212 27.9 2nd new 2009 106,922 34.9 2nd 0 2014 69,852 27.0 2nd 0 2019 77.241 27.5 2nd 0202479,16321.52nd 1

Presidential Elections +YearCandidatePhotograph1st Round2nd RoundElectedVotes%ResultVotes%Result1959Ioannis Clerides (Democratic Union)71,75333.2 Lost in first round1968Archbishop Makarios III (Independent)220,91196.3 Elected in first round1973no opponent1978Spyros Kyprianou (Democratic Party)no opponent1983173,79156.5 Elected in first round1988George Vassiliou (Independent)100,74830.1 167,83451.6 1993157,02744.2 176,76949.7 1998George Iacovou (Independent)160,91840.6 200,22249.2 2003Tassos Papadopoulos (Democratic Party)213,35351.5 Elected in first round2008Demetris Christofias150,01633.3 240,60453.4 2013Stavros Malas118,75526.9 175,26742.5 2018116,92030.2 169,24344.0 2023Andreas Mavroyiannis (Independent)117,55129.6 189,33548.0

AKEL MPs

2011–present Adamos Adamou 2007–2011 2006–2011 2011–present Irene Charalambidou 1991–2008 Dimitris Christofias 2011–present 2004–2006, 2008-2016 1981–1991 Pavlos Diglis 2001–2016 2006–2021 1970–1991 2008–present Yiannakis Gavriel 1991–2011 2011–2019 Giorgos Georgiou 1996–2009 Takis Hadjigeorgiou 2003–2011 Dinos Hadjinicolas 2011–present Christakis Jovanis 1991–present Nicos Katsourides 2011–present 2011–present Kostas Kosta 2008–present Skevi Koukouma Koutra 2001–present Andros Kyprianou 2006–2011 Pambis Kyritsis 2001–present Yiannos Lamaris 1996–2003 Giorgos Lillikas 2011–present Giorgos Loucaides 2008-2011 Klavdios Mavrohannas 2001–2006 Eleni Mavrou 2011–present Christos Mesis 2006–2011 Andreas Mouskalis 2011–2016 Pambos Papageorgiou 1960–1988 Ezekias Papaioannou 1985–1991 Michalis Papapetrou 1970–1991 Georgios Savvides 2006–present Panikkos Stavrianos 1996–2011 Yannakis Thoma 1960–1991 Andreas Ziartides

AKEL MEPs 2004–2009 Adamos Adamou 2004–2014 Kyriacos Triantaphyllides 2009–2019 Takis Hadjigeorgiou 2014–2019 Neoklis Sylikiotis 2019–2024 Niyazi Kızılyürek 2019–present Giorgos K. Georgiou

List of general secretaries 1936–1945 Ploutis Servas 1945–1949 Fifis Ioannou 1949–1988 Ezekias Papaioannou 1988–2009 Dimitris Christofias (6th President of the Republic of Cyprus) 2009–2021 Andros Kyprianou 2021–present Stefanos Stefanou

References

Citations

Sources

Panayiotou, A. (2006) "Lenin in the Coffee-Shop: The Communist Alternative and Forms of non-Western Modernity", Postcolonial Studies, 9, 3, pp. 267–280. Adams (1971) AKEL: The Communist Party of Cyprus. California: Hoover Press Lefkis, G. (1984) Roots (Limassol). Fantis (2005) The Cypriot Trade Union Movement During the Period of British Colonialism (Nicosia) Servas (1985, 1991) Responsibilities (Athens, Grammi). Peristianis (2006) "The Rise of the Left and Intra-Ethnic Cleavages" in Faustmann, H. and Peristianis, N. (ed.), Britain in Cyprus, Colonialism and Post-colonialism 1878-2006. Mannheim, Bibliopolis. Philippou, Lambros (2010) "The Cypriot Paradox: The Communist Way Towards Political Liberalism", Cyprus Review, 22, 1, pp. 129–149. Δίγκλης, Παύλος (2010) ΑΚΕΛ. Με τόλμη και παρρησία: Προσωπικές μαρτυρίες. Εκδόσεις Επιφανίου.

External links AKEL's website in English (also available in Greek and Turkish)