Speech by the General Secretary of AKEL Stefanos Stefanou at the AKEL Nicosia-Kyrenia District Conference to determine the Party’s list of candidates in the Nicosia district

 

16 November 2025, POED conference hall, Nicosia

Comrades,

Dear friends of the Social Alliance,

Today we will be deciding on the AKEL – Left – Social Alliance candidate list for the district of Nicosia. Today’s conference is the culmination of the democratic procedures we follow to form our electoral lists. A process that gives a voice and a serious role to our members.

In our Party, we put democracy into practice. One person doesn’t decide who will represent us, but we all decide together.

And I want to stress this point: we all decide together.

This is in line with the character and nature of our party. We put the collective over the personal and strive for the common good.

AKEL was born out of the common working people, and we represent them. We support the many, not the few and the privileged. We support those who struggle daily to meet the many needs that life places before them.

We are the Party of the ordinary person, not of big interests.

Dear friends,

This coming May, our country will hold parliamentary elections. These are critical elections. They will determine not only who will represent the people in parliament, but also the political course the country will follow in the coming years.

Because, no matter how often we hear that “nothing changes” and that “they are all the same,” the truth is that the decisions that are made in parliament directly affect all of our lives: from the economy and wages to housing, social policies, the rule of law, public services, the quality of our democracy, the exercise of scrutiny, transparency, and the need for accountability of the executive branch.

It is precisely on these issues that citizens will decide who will represent them.

• Who will speak on their behalf.
• Who will defend their rights
• Who will stand up to powerful interests.

That is why, before casting their vote, citizens need to think carefully, evaluate the political forces and judge which ones are on their side and which ones are on the side of those who profit at their expense — the banks, the monopolies and oligopolies, the powerful interests, the establishment.

In the May parliamentary elections, we will decide on the composition and balance of power in parliament, which will seek to control the government and, to the extent permitted by the Constitution, influence its decisions.

It is no secret that the parliamentary elections are taking place in a climate of levelling and depreciation of politics and parties. We know this. We understand it!

This depreciation and levelling is primarily fuelled by the fact that a large section of society is living in difficult conditions. But that is precisely where citizens must judge issues:

• Why are they living in difficult conditions?
• Who governs?
• Who takes the decisions that disadvantage the many and favour the few and the privileged?
• And who is really fighting to change this situation?

Because not all parties are the same. They do not all vote in the same way. They do not represent the same interests. They do not have the same priorities or the same consistency.

AKEL is different from all other parties — and it has proven this through its actions. And it is action/daily practice that is the criterion of truth – not any declarations and empty grandiose talk.

And since action is the criterion of truth, allow me to take you back in time a little. To that moment in time, when AKEL tabled a bill in parliament for the taxation of the exorbitant profits of the banks. On this issue, political parties were confronted with a dilemma:

Should we vote in favour of society or in favour of the banks?

This was the dilemma AKEL set before them, which has always been concerned about all those who open their wallets on the first week of the month and subsequently find them almost empty.

“The banks and the economy will collapse,” they told us.

The European Commission itself responded to these claims by saying, “There is no risk to the banks or the economy when exorbitant profits are taxed.”

This scenario was not only observed on the case of exorbitant profits, but also in other critical issues concerning banks: foreclosures, for example. The well-known parties enabled banks to seize the homes and properties of people and small and medium-sized enterprises through summary fast track procedures.

The same happened with the excessive charges and abusive clauses imposed by the banks to ensure super profits at the expense of citizens. And here too, the parties —the banks’ guardians —protected them.

The conclusion is clear: there are political parties who consider the banks are their holy child. Those who suffer daily from foreclosures, loan instalments, high interest rates, and bank overcharges should expect nothing from these parties that always side with the banks. They should support the party that is always on their side: AKEL.

The same applies to many other day-to-day issues, major and secondary, that affect our lives, our work, our prospects, our country. Every vote counts! Think about it: if AKEL had one more vote in parliament, our proposal to tax bank profits would have become law.

So the people’s anger is understandable. It is a perfectly human emotion in the difficult conditions we are living in. But it is precisely those who are angry and indignant who need to think again.

Because abstention, however it may appear  as a neutral action, is not in fact so. Abstention leaves the decision to others. It permits those who benefit from the current situation to continue their policies undisturbed. It leaves room for those who do not feel the pinch, who are not worried about their salaries, who do not experience the uncertainty of day-to-day life. Most importantly, however, abstention strengthens those forces and circles responsible for the difficult conditions experienced by society and allows them to continue doing so.

We also understand why some people are considering casting a “protest vote.” A vote that shows their anger towards a political system that they feel does not listen to them.

But the reality is that not everyone is punished equally because, as we have already pointed out, not all parties are the same. Not all of them bear the same responsibility for what we are experiencing. A protest vote may vent anger, but it does not determine what value it will have when difficult issues come up in parliament.

When the time comes to take decisions, it is not enough to mock situations or behave in an extravagant manner in order for the TikTok and Instagram algorithms to work and for you to receive thousands of likes. The satisfaction of venting lasts only a moment — the moment of voting — but the vote is binding for five years. Citizens need to know what each party will do on issues that affect our lives and our country, so they know what they are precisely voting for.

AKEL, the party that consistently stands by society at every critical moment, cannot be lumped together with those parties who support or tolerate policies that generate poverty, inequality, economic insecurity, corruption, and collusion/interwoven interests.

Dear friends

Many times, various people — some well-meaning and others maliciously  — ask us: “You criticize and react to many things. Do you have anything to propose, or does opposition and rejection suit you?”

AKEL is a responsible force. That is why, while reacting to and rejecting anti-social policies, it proposes its own well-documented, realistic and entirely feasible proposals. And here, the criterion of truth, which is action not empty talk, counts.

AKEL has submitted numerous proposals and memoranda, sent dozens of letters, tabled many issues for debate and bill proposals in parliament, organized specific campaigns, and consulted with society on many issues: on housing and housing programs, student welfare, young families, energy poverty and energy in general, the countryside, the primary sector and agriculture, on the water issue, the climate crisis, submitted bill proposals for tax reductions in vital sectors such as electricity and fuel, and the elaboration of a new economic model. The list is endless, substantive, and well-substantiated.

However, I feel the need to say something that also demonstrates the difference between AKEL and the other parties. We are constantly on society’s side. We do not only remember it during election campaigns. Proof of this fact are the dozens of tours and visits we have made to every corner of the free-areas of Cyprus: to cities and villages. To workplaces, educational institutions, health facilities, cultural venues, and recreation venues. Everywhere and always!

From the people, for the people. That is who we are and that is how we will continue to be. That is our history, our identity, our philosophy.

Dear friends,

Before I step down from the podium, I would like to briefly refer to three more issues:

The first issue has to do with the governance of the country. The parliamentary elections are directly related to this. Parliament exercises scrutiny over the government, passes laws, and, to a certain extent, shapes policies. It is important for the opposition to be strong in parliament because it is the opposing voice, the other opinion, the different proposal. This enriches democracy and strengthens the balance of power.

AKEL is the strong opposition force. The other parties either participate in the government or, in one way or another, support or tolerate the government’s policies and behaviour. Only AKEL stands consistently against the government.

• A government that proves its inability to deal with multiple problems and challenges on a daily basis.
• A government that is at odds with society.
• A government that cares for its relatives, best men, friends, and supporters, but not for ordinary people.
• A government that has reduced governance to communication tactics/games and sometimes invests in the providence of… Saint Helen to solve problems.
• A government that takes no responsibility and fears transparency and accountability like as the saying goes the devil fears holy water. Take, for example, what is happening with the President’s wife’s Fund. Complete non-transparency. So who fears transparency and scrutiny? Those who have something to hide!

Faced with the incompetent and ineffective Christodoulides government, it is important to have a strong, effective, and responsible opposition. It is important that AKEL, which is the principal force of the opposition, emerges even stronger in the parliamentary elections. That is our electoral goal. That is what we are called upon to achieve, and we will achieve it!

The second issue I want to mention is the Cyprus problem, which is the most important issue for the future of our country. Anyone who has even an elementary understanding of the history of the Cyprus problem understands that we are on the verge of developments. All the facts point to this.

At this critical juncture, we need a clear, responsible, and consistent voice. And that voice is the voice of AKEL.

AKEL remains unwaveringly committed to the only solution that can reunite our country: a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation with political equality. A solution that ends the occupation and reunites our people, Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots.

AKEL is the force that:

• consistently defends the agreed basis for a solution,
• has a clear vision of how we can move forward,
• combats nationalism and intolerance,
• builds trust between the two communities,
• speaks with sincerity and patriotic responsibility.

That is why we say clearly:

With a strong AKEL, hope is also strong.

• Hope for a solution.
• Hope for reunification.
• Hope for a Cyprus without occupation.
• Hope for a peaceful, federal, modern European Cyprus that will belong to all Cypriots.

Strengthening AKEL in the May elections is not just about combating expensiveness/the high cost of living and everyday issues  —  it is also about the very future of the country.

• It is a vote of responsibility towards a solution and reunification.
• It is a vote against partition.
• It is a vote that keeps hope alive.

 

 

Dear friends,

All this makes today’s procedure of forming our electoral candidate list extremely important. Nicosia is the largest district, both geographically and in terms of population, and needs a strong, representative, and effective candidate list.

Nicosia is the district that plays a key role with regards the overall election result.

Nicosia needs a powerful voice.

It needs capable, honest, and combative people.

And that is what we are ensuring today with the list we are putting together. A strong and representative candidate list that will cover the entire district geographically.

A ballot that will express our social responsibility and our vision for the country.

It is important that our electoral list expresses all three components of our electoral coalition: AKEL, the Left, and the Social Alliance.

It is important that it includes the knowledge of experience, but also the enthusiasm of young people.

It must include women so that the message that AKEL is and appears in practise to be the force for equality and parity between men and women.

Dear friends,

The May elections are not a simple process. They are a collective moment of responsibility. Because strengthening AKEL is in the interests of society, the middle strata, workers, young people, low-income pensioners, and people who are struggling every day.

We are calling for a strong AKEL for all of them.

• To make their voice even stronger.
• To make our strength the strength of citizens.
• Because only a strong AKEL can stand up to injustice.

Only a strong AKEL can put pressure on the government.

Only a strong AKEL can project a perspective.

Only a strong AKEL can keep alive the prospect of a solution of the Cyprus problem and reunification.

• For a more humane society.
• For a reunited and peaceful Cyprus.
• For an AKEL that is strong for Cyprus. Strong for the people.

So let’s move forward, friends

• with the momentum of our history,
• the power of our experience
• the passion of our contribution
• the collective work of all of us,

Let us emerge from the elections even stronger, even more powerful.

Because a strong AKEL means a strong hope for our present and our future!