Progressive Party of Working People
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Template:Politics of Cyprus The Progressive Party of Working People (AKEL) (Greek: Ανορθωτικό Κόμμα Εργαζόμενου Λαού) is a socialist party in Cyprus. At the last legislative elections, 27 may 2001, the party won 34.7 % of the popular vote and 20 out of 59 seats. It was founded in 1926 with the name Communist party of Cyprus. It became illegal in 1931 when the British colonial government imposed restrictions in civil rights following a nationalist riot. In 1941, leading members of the underground communist party and others founded AKEL. In the first municipal elections in 1943 (before that mayors were appointed) AKEL candidates became mayors of Limassol (Ploutis Servas)and Famagusta (Adam Adamantos). List of general secretaries:
- 1936-194? Ploutis Servas
- 194?-1949 Fifis Ioannou
- 1949-1989 Ezekias Papaioannou (a veteran of the spanish civil war)
- 1989-present Dimitris Christofias
AKEL opposed to the use of violence by EOKA. For this reason its members were considered traitors and sometimes were even killed by EOKA. Such was the case of Savas Menikou, a poor working class supporter of AKEL who was stoned to death.
At about 1958, the Turkish Cypriot nationalist organization TMT started forcing Turkish Cypriots members of AKEL to leave. Editor of a workers newspaper Fazil Onder was killed and the head of the Turkish bureau of PEO (AKEL's trade union) Ahmet Sadi moved to the UK to save his life.
In the first presidential elections for independent Cyprus, AKEL backed Ioannis Kliridis (father of Glafkos Klerides) against Makarios III. The last Turkish Cypriot to be a member of the central committee of AKEL, Derviş Ali Kavazoğlu was killed by TMT in 1965.
It is a member of the European United Left - Nordic Green Left in the European Parliament. Cyprus joined the EU in 2004.
External Link
AKEL's web site in English (http://www.akel.org.cy/English/akel.html)el:Ανορθωτικό Κόμμα Εργαζόμενου Λαού fr:AKEL sv:Anorthotiko Komma Ergazomenou Laou