AKEL
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Progressive Party of Working People
Ανορθωτικό Κόμμα Εργαζόμενου Λαού Emekçi Halkın İlerici Partisi |
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| Abbreviation | AKEL |
| General Secretary | Andros Kyprianou |
| Founded | August 15, 1926 |
| Headquarters | Nicosia, Cyprus |
| Newspaper | Haravgi |
| Youth wing | EDON |
| Ideology |
Communism Marxism–Leninism Cypriotism |
| Political position | Left-wing |
| European affiliation | Party of the European Left (Observer) |
| International affiliation |
International Meeting of Communist and Workers' Parties International Communist Seminar |
| European Parliament group | European United Left–Nordic Green Left |
| Colours | Red |
| House of Representatives |
16 / 56
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| European Parliament |
2 / 6
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| Municipal Councils |
123 / 470
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| Website | |
| www |
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The Progressive Party of Working People (Greek: Ανορθωτικό Κόμμα Εργαζόμενου Λαού, Anorthotikó Kómma Ergazómenou Laoú, AKEL; Turkish: Emekçi Halkın İlerici Partisi) is a communist political party in Cyprus.
AKEL supports an independent, demilitarized and non-aligned Cyprus, and a federal solution of the internal aspect of the Cyprus problem. It places particular emphasis on rapprochement with the Turkish Cypriots. It supported entry into the European Union with certain reservations. AKEL also supported the Annan Plan in 2004, but in the end they decided on a negative response, since they did not have time to formulate a response to the plan.
As a strong supporter of welfare benefits and nationalization, AKEL successfully put into practice several social measures to support the economic welfare of Cypriots during the late-2000s financial crisis, such as increasing low pensions by 30% and strengthening the welfare benefits given to university students to €12 million per year. Overall, €1.2 billion were spent on welfare benefits during the first three years that AKEL was in power, with various improvements made in social welfare provision. However, critics have attributed the 2012–13 Cypriot financial crisis to the AKEL government's mismanagement of the country's status as a financial haven. The party is now in opposition following the 2013 election.
It was founded in 1926 with the name Communist Party of Cyprus (CPC). The communist party set as its aim not only the struggle against exploitation but also the independence of Cyprus from British rule. The party became illegal in 1931 when the British colonial government imposed restrictions on 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).
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Wikipedia