The Progressive Party of Working People (AKEL) has described the Anti-Corruption Authority's findings in the "Mafia State" case as a critical moment for Cyprus' institutions and the rule of law, launching a fierce attack on Attorney General George Savvides, Deputy Attorney General Savvas Angelides, the leadership of the Democratic Rally (DISY) and President Nikos Christodoulides.
In a statement, AKEL said that if "the triangle of the Attorney General's office, the Presidential Palace and DISY's headquarters on Pindarou Street" manages, in its words, to cover up the network of vested interests once again, then "nothing will be left standing." The party linked the case directly to what it called "the Nikos Anastasiades system" and questioned the credibility of the investigation.
AKEL is demanding the immediate departure of Savvides and Angelides from their posts, arguing that an objective and untainted investigation cannot take place while they remain in office. Under the constitution, the party noted, any criminal investigation will ultimately rest on the Attorney General's judgement. Both men were appointed to their posts by Anastasiades and served as ministers in his government.
The statement describes the situation as "an insult to citizens' intelligence," with AKEL arguing that men who, in its words, have been Anastasiades's "crutches" cannot be the ones to investigate him.
AKEL also turned its fire on DISY's leadership, calling on it to recognise "how shameful it is to keep covering up Nikos Anastasiades and his system." The party said DISY is itself part of that system, noting that Anastasiades is being examined over criminal offences alleged to have taken place while he was a DISY MP, the party's leader and head of a DISY government.
AKEL linked the Attorney General office's position directly to the fact that Savvides and Angelides remain in their posts, arguing that this is the only way Anastasiades, and in its words, "they themselves," can be shielded. It called on DISY president Annita Demetriou to say whether she is still proud of her party's honorary president and whether she would put him on a party platform again.
AKEL directed criticism at Christodoulides too, saying he needs to understand that the system exposed in the findings concerns both the government in which he was a senior figure and his political mentor, as AKEL described Anastasiades, who the party said installed him in the Presidential Palace. The party called on every citizen, regardless of political affiliation, to raise their voice, saying that "the impunity, the cover-up and the audacity of this system must be broken." The party said it would continue to pursue the issue, in its words, decisively and without retreat.
