Shock and a wave of reactions followed a post by ELAM candidate for Nicosia Phoebos Kyprianou, who stated that, if elected, he would promote legislation to establish a special authority to monitor political parties and organisations which, according to him, “promote denial or downgrading of the Turkish invasion, glorification of terrorist groups, cooperation with occupying forces, foreign agendas or ideologies that threaten the survival of Cypriot Hellenism and, in the case of a confirmed threat, would propose measures up to and including the complete ban of their activity by decision of the Supreme Court.”
The ELAM candidate went a step further by explicitly naming AKEL, Volt and Fidias as potential “threats”.
AKEL and Volt
AKEL responded with a statement describing the proposal as outrageous, stressing that ELAM can no longer hide its intentions and is openly declaring that it “has democracy, the Left and every different voice in its sights”.
The party said this confirms long‑standing warnings.
“Whether dressed in black with hoods or well dressed with ties, fascists do not change. They are a danger to democracy and a poison to society. The far right has committed crimes in this country and is synonymous with betrayal and destruction. That is why its place is in isolation, not in the seats of parliament and power,” AKEL said.
Volt also condemned the proposal, describing it as revealing and as positions that “constitute a serious threat to democracy.”
The party accused ELAM of expressing “fear, authoritarianism and censorship”, adding that it did not take long for ELAM to increase its electoral strength before “dropping the masks”.
“Those who praise Hitler and the junta have come to tell us they will protect democracy by taking us outside the law,” Volt said, adding: “We are being threatened by draft dodgers, told what ‘homeland’ means, and lectured on democracy by Golden Dawn supporters. Those who never believed in the Republic of Cyprus, who see it as an obstacle, something to control, limit and silence. And they have the audacity to say it publicly.”
Silence from ELAM
Despite the widely criticised and anti‑democratic nature of the proposal, ELAM’s official leadership maintained complete silence, showing no willingness to distance itself from the candidate’s position, even for appearances.
The candidate himself, following the backlash, deleted the post but issued no apology.
A record of similar positions
This is not the first time the candidate has expressed such views through social media posts.
In the past, in relation to a pro‑Palestine protest outside the Presidential Palace, he had stated that, if elected, he would submit a proposal to “ban any public glorification of Islamic terrorism and Turkish propaganda”, linking the protest to political figures and organisations that, in his view, adopt pro‑Turkish or anti‑Israeli positions.
On 12 May, referring to a protest outside the Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation against Israel not being excluded from the Eurovision Song Contest, he wrote: “Now outside RIK, the ‘United Palestine’ group, together with AKEL, Volt and Fidias, have gathered to protest against Israel. Israel is an ally against the common Islamic threat, and this greatly bothers them.”
