In Cyprus, party membership has long meant paying up as well as signing up. Annual fees range from €24 at the progressive Volt to a token €1 at the far-right ELAM. But Odysseas Michaelides’ new movement Alma is rejecting what it calls “old-style party politics,” pledging not to impose compulsory dues at all and, instead, betting on voluntary contributions.
The political movement Alma, founded by Michaelides, considers the concept of mandatory party membership fees an element of outdated party practices. For that reason, its statutes do not include compulsory contributions when the movement registers with the Registry of Political Parties and formally becomes a political party.
According to information obtained by Politis, Alma is exploring ways of voluntary contributions, for example, creating an online donation platform.
So how do things stand in the other parties today?
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Volt has the highest annual membership fee at €24.
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Next are DISY and AKEL, each charging €20 per year.
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In DIKO, DIPA, and EDEK, the fee is €10 annually.
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The same applies to the Green Party – Citizens’ Cooperation, where the fee is €10, but reduced to €5 if a member also belongs to an affiliated body such as the Women’s Movement of the Greens. In that case, €5 goes to the party and €5 to the affiliated group.
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The far-right ELAM has the lowest fee, set at €1 per year in its statutes. However, a party official admitted that even this nominal amount is not actually collected.
It is worth noting that several parties face difficulties in collecting mandatory contributions. In many cases, annual or monthly fees are settled only during electoral or party congresses, as members must be financially up to date to exercise their voting rights and participate in party procedures.