AKEL’s Political Bureau on Tuesday announced the removal of MP Irene Charalambidou from its parliamentary group, accusing her of adopting an offensive stance towards the party’s supporters and of pursuing personal ambitions.
In a written response, Charalambidou said the decision to place her outside the parliamentary group was taken by the party leadership, stressing that she had “never expressed a desire to become independent”. She accused AKEL of attempting to undermine her character and stated: “I will not follow the confrontation that is deliberately being provoked. I will not lower the dialogue to that level.”
Term limits and failed talks
In its statement, AKEL underlined that candidates running on its ballot are aware that the party has enforced term limits since 1991, recently reduced from three terms to two at the 2023 Statutory Congress. An exception of one additional term applies only to senior party officials.
The Political Bureau outlined contacts between Secretary General Stefanos Stefanou and Charalambidou aimed at finding a way to continue their cooperation. According to AKEL, the party proposed that she head an Observatory on Corruption and Intertwining Interests, an area in which she has been particularly active.
It also said it was open to discussing any proposal she might submit to continue their collaboration, noting that the party had supported her “with persistence and patience” over the years, even when she opposed party choices in critical political battles, including the last presidential elections.
The Political Bureau said discussions had reached an end because Charalambidou rejected the proposal and did not submit an alternative. It added that the dialogue could not continue given her repeated public statements leaving open the possibility of contesting the upcoming parliamentary elections on the ballot of another party.
AKEL described this stance as unethical and offensive towards its voters, stating that Charalambidou had effectively placed herself outside the party’s parliamentary group.
The seat dispute
The party reiterated its long-standing position that parliamentary seats belong to parties and argued that “political ethics and deontology require the seat to be returned to AKEL”. It added, however, that the final decision rests with Charalambidou.
In her response, the MP rejected the demand, pointing out that in Cyprus MPs are elected through a system of preferential voting rather than closed party lists.
“In our constitutional system,” she said, “the demand for resignation from a parliamentary seat disregards and underestimates the voter, who has a say not only in selecting a party list but also specific candidates through the preference vote.”
Warning against a “transfer market”
AKEL also sought to frame the dispute within a broader political context, saying developments do not occur in a political vacuum.
“The party is not a vehicle for careers nor a flag of convenience for anyone,” the Political Bureau said, warning against what it described as a growing phenomenon of pre-election “transfer markets”, where party affiliations change according to personal ambition.
Without naming ALMA directly, AKEL cautioned that those who may feel politically advantaged by such movements today should be aware that the phenomenon could later turn into a boomerang.
The party stressed that politics must remain grounded in collective action, consistency of ideas and ethical conduct.
Charalambidou’s response
Charalambidou said the proposal for continued cooperation was “general and vague” and that although two meetings took place, in September 2025 and February 2026, there had been no progress over five months.
She said she had requested the proposal in writing after the latest meeting, but this did not happen. She also stated that the party leadership sought answers she was not in a position to provide, citing serious personal matters delaying her decisions.
She expressed regret over what she described as references aimed at damaging her personality to serve a polarising party narrative.
Committee chairmanship reassigned
Following the definitive break, AKEL Secretary General Stefanos Stefanou announced that Charalambidou would be removed as chair of the House Human Rights Committee. The position will be transferred to MP Giorgos Koukoumas, previously the committee’s deputy chair.
According to information obtained by Politis, Stefanou has already informed House Speaker Annita Demetriou in writing of both the decision to expel Charalambidou from the parliamentary group and the reassignment of the committee chairmanship.