AKEL’s Statutory Congress continues – The main statutory changes have been approved

 

26 November 2023, AKEL C.C. Press Office, Nicosia

The work of the Statutory Congress of AKEL began this morning and is continuing with the participation of around 1,000 elected representatives from all over Cyprus and Party Organisations abroad.

The deliberations of the Congress was opened by member of the Political Bureau of the C.C. of the Party, Chrystalla Antoniou, who referred to the procedure of the previous weeks and the democratic dialogue that took place among the thousands of AKEL members and in the Party’s collective bodies. She underlined the importance of the Congress and the Party’s responsibility towards its 100-year history and the Cypriot people to listen to the needs of our times.

At the opening of the Congress, a video was shown with messages from the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Israel (CPI), Adel Amer, the General Secretary of the Palestinian People’s Party (PPP), Bassam Salhi, and the Ambassador of Palestine to Cyprus, Abdullah Attari, who spoke about the need for an immediate end to the war in Gaza and the Israeli occupation, about the solidarity that the long-suffering Palestinian people need at this time.

The key part of the opening of the Congress was the speech of the General Secretary of the Central Committee of AKEL, Stefanos Stefanou, who outlined the need for changes in the structure, operation and procedures of the Party and at the same time, presented the main changes proposed by the Central Committee. Stefanos Stefanou stressed the need for changes and extroversion in AKEL’s actions, without changing the ideological orientation and character of the Party.

Subsequently, the discussion began on each of the changes proposed by the Central Committee and the delegates. In the first part of the debate, the main proposals of the Central Committee have been approved for:

1. The reduction of the terms of office of MP’s/Members of the European Parliament from three to two.
2. The election of the General Secretary by the Congress instead of the Central Committee.
3. Provision that members of the C.C. who do not work in the full-time mechanism of AKEL and mass organisations of the People’s Movement of the Left should constitute at least 60% of the body.
4. Incompatibility of the posts of Central Organizational, District and District Organizational Secretary with the public offices of MP, MEP, Mayor and President of a District Organization.

The discussion is continuing and the deliberations of the Congress are expected to conclude in the afternoon.