Akel will complete all its scheduled meetings with other parties, as well as discussions in its local branches and district conferences, by the end of the year, party spokesman Haris Polycarpou told Politis. Running in parallel with the conferences and the dialogue at grassroots level, the round of formal contacts with opposition parties is being set in motion at the party’s headquarters with an eye on decisions in early 2027. Before Christmas, Akel delegations will hold official meetings with Alma, Volt, Direct Democracy and the Ecologists. Alma leader Odysseas Michaelides said on Wednesday that he has already met Akel general secretary Stefanos Stefanou and found the atmosphere positive. Edek remains outside the round for now, as Akel is waiting for its electoral congress in December to conclude and a new leadership to emerge. The Movement of Ecologists is also in the middle of an electoral process and will choose a new president at its extraordinary pancyprian electoral congress on 14 November.
Akel’s district conferences opened in Famagusta and continue on Saturday in Larnaca, followed by Nicosia on 21 November and Limassol on 29 November, with Paphos closing the cycle on 5 December.
Names stay with the local branches
The conferences are organisational in nature, but because the debate is shaped by the coming elections, they will also address the political framework for the search for a candidate. According to Polycarpou, no names are being discussed at the conferences. Delegates will instead debate the party’s direction, the pursuit of progressive change and areas of convergence with other political forces. Names will be raised in the local party branches of each area, where the substantive discussion with members takes place, and the branches are expected to have completed their meetings by the end of the year. Akel’s contacts with the Social Alliance are also continuing.
Stefanou’s timeline
Speaking on ANT1’s Mera Mesimeri programme, Stefanou placed decisions on the presidential candidacy in the first months of 2027, once the contacts and internal party procedures have been completed. Priority, he said, is being given to parties that define themselves as opposition, although he acknowledged objective difficulties arising from the congresses currently under way in some of them. Stefanou said he was open to contact with Diko, but noted that as the main party of government, it would be contradictory for it to discuss a change of governance at the same time. Asked about the possibility of backing Michaelides, he neither confirmed nor denied it. “We do not rule anyone out, but we do not favour anyone either,” he said.
Changes in Limassol and Larnaca
At organisational level, a change of leadership is expected in two districts. In Limassol, Giorgos Georgiou, district secretary since 2013, is stepping down and is expected to be succeeded by former MP Andros Kafkalias. In Larnaca, Chrystalla Antoniou is moving to the party’s local government department. The Larnaca district conference opens on Saturday with addresses by Stefanou and Antoniou and will elect a new district committee for the next five years, as well as a new district secretary. No changes are expected in Nicosia or Paphos.
