AKEL’s centenary puts Mavroyiannis presidential buzz back in the spotlight

Politics akelelectionspartiesTop News AKEL’s centenary puts Mavroyiannis presidential buzz back in the spotlight Akel's Centenary Puts Mavroyiannis Presidential Buzz Back In The Spotlight Relevant News AKEL’s centenary puts Mavroyiannis presidential buzz back in the spotlight 11 September 2026 Things to do on Friday, September 11 11 September 2026 Fair weather to continue as temperatures reach 37C 11 September 2026 Frixos Dalitis 11 September 2026 FacebookXWhatsAppEmailPrintViber AKEL’s hundredth-anniversary event had all the trappings of a celebration: Stefanos Stefanou brought energy to his speech, and Andreas Mavroyiannis sat in the front row, very much part of proceedings. It was a scene that landed squarely on top of reports that Mavroyiannis is edging towards a decision on the presidential race, one he aims to announce by the end of the year. In his speech, Stefanou set out three criteria AKEL would use to rule candidates out. Notably, he didn’t frame it as what qualities a candidate needs to earn the Left’s backing — he chose, as he put it himself, to run it in reverse: who AKEL would not choose. Three points that, naturally, are open to plenty of interpretation over who might or might not fit that particular suit. And that’s no accident: word from within the Left is that there are three distinct currents inside AKEL over how to pick a presidential candidate. The debate over the presidential race is still at a very early stage within AKEL, and there is, as things stand, no clear picture yet. What is clear, though, is that Mavroyiannis’s name keeps circulating inside the party — just as clear as the reservations that exist over repeating the 2023 script. There also appears to be a view within the Left favouring either a party candidate or a centre-left one. It’s against that backdrop that talk of outreach, or soundings, towards certain names has taken hold. What’s certain is that people fitting that profile — names that surface from time to time, or have surfaced in the past, as potential AKEL candidates — remain close to the party and continue to signal, directly or indirectly, their willingness to enter the race under AKEL’s banner. So when Stefanou said, on Wednesday night, that a candidacy would not be AKEL’s choice if it failed to prioritise a Cyprus settlement on the agreed basis and framework; that it would not be AKEL’s choice if it served today’s governing model, where the wellbeing of the numbers comes before the needs of citizens; and that it would not be AKEL’s choice if it served the interests of the few, preserving the shadows of corruption and cronyism that marked both the Anastasiades-DISY government and the Christodoulides government — he may or may not have had a specific candidate in mind. Mavroyiannis, at any rate, was there. The two men have kept up a good relationship since the 2023 campaign. It may not have been Stefanou’s own first choice initially — it’s well known he backed Achilleas Dimitriades’s case at the time — but the two developed a good working relationship along the way, and, as AKEL’s general secretary recently revealed on a television programme, the two had lunch together just a few days ago. Also in the mix is word that Mavroyiannis wants to run a different kind of campaign this time — announcing his own candidacy first, without making a big party’s backing a precondition, unlike the approach he took in 2023. That would mean that, by the time AKEL reaches the final stage of its own candidate-selection process, Mavroyiannis will already be a declared candidate. Could the party simply ignore that fact? The same question runs the other way, too: could Mavroyiannis fight a presidential race without AKEL’s backing? AKEL: a century-long journey, eyes on the future With references to the people and historic moments that shaped its hundred-year history, and clear messages on today’s political developments, AKEL marked, on Wednesday night, a century since the founding of the Communist Party of Cyprus – AKEL. The event was held outside the Central Committee’s offices, with the party’s general secretary, Stefanos Stefanou, as the main speaker. AKEL’s Central Organising Secretary, Haris Karamanos, also set out the actions, events and publications through which the party will mark the anniversary. The programme included an artistic performance by Cypriot musicians and songwriters, curated by Giorgos Kalogirou. ALMA: ruling out a party candidate, ruling out Mavroyiannis too One more conclusion emerges from the past few days’ statements: ALMA has ruled out working with AKEL if the candidate is a party official, or if that candidate is Andreas Mavroyiannis. On that basis, a cooperation scenario drops out of the equation altogether. In any case, it looks increasingly likely that Odysseas Michaelides intends to run for president himself. A scenario in which AKEL backs him could still be floated as an option — though such a scenario isn’t expected to gain any real traction within the party’s collective bodies. Subscribe to our Newsletter Latest News Things to do on Friday, September 11 Fair weather to continue as temperatures reach 37C Athens clinic doctors arrested after forensic search over Mazonakis death Protesters gather outside Presidential Palace over Herzog visit (photos) €15.6m avenue plan sparks backlash over western Nicosia developments Cyprus ready to host Israel-Lebanon trilateral if asked, sources say Queer Wave banners vandalised in Nicosia ahead of LGBTQIA+ film festival Follow en.philenews on Google News and be the first to know all the news about Cyprus and the world.