The General Secretary of the Workers' Party of the Working People (AKEL), Mr Stefanos Stefanou, in an official statement following the final result of the 2023 Presidential Elections, said the following: "Good evening. Mr. Nicos Christodoulides for his election and wish him a productive term of office for the country. I should say that I have already called Mr Christodoulides and congratulated him. It was a very difficult electoral battle, in which we gave our best, and Andreas Mavroyiannis, a man with an excellent quality of character, ethics and love for the country, who inspired tens of thousands of our fellow citizens from different political backgrounds and supported his candidacy, made a significant contribution to this. Our fellow citizens, who believe that Cyprus deserves better, who believe in rationality, honesty, sincerity, who reject phobic syndromes and opportunistic transformations. I feel the need to congratulate Andreas Mavroyiannis for his struggle and wish him well. I am sure that our paths will cross again in our common struggles for the reunification of our homeland and the prosperity of our country. From the bottom of my heart, I would like to address a big thank you to the executives and members of AKEL, to the thousands of voters and friends of the party, who rallied together in the hard struggle to support the independent candidacy of Andreas Mavroyiannis. A struggle that was fought with pride and dignity, always keeping our eyes on our Cyprus and our people. This has been and will continue to be AKEL's first priority: our Cyprus. The next day will be a restarting point for our party. I am optimistic that we will win the battle of strengthening the role and intervention of the party for the good of our country, the workers of our people. The elections have proven that the Left is here, strong, united, with a vision for the future. From 1 March it will be politicking as an opposition. Always with responsibility, assertiveness, seriousness and patriotism. This is the statement I have to make."
Asked by a journalist about how he will proceed in Parliament with bills by Nikos Christodoulides, Stefanou replied, "It is no coincidence that I have mentioned that we will be an opposition, as always, with responsibility, seriousness, assertiveness and patriotism. Over the years, AKEL has given clear examples of how it has been politicking, and when you put the interests of the country, society and workers above all else, you position yourself accordingly. And our positions have this characteristic of responsibility, assertiveness and seriousness. This is how we are, this is how we will continue as an opposition force."
Asked how AKEL will manage to keep the voters who have rallied in the electoral process, Stefanou replied. We have already announced a few months ago a roadmap to implement the decisions of the July 2021 Congress, with a roadmap that will lead, in the autumn of this year, to a statutory congress to approve changes aimed at improving the effectiveness and role of AKEL in society, and at the same time to strengthen our ties with society itself. Therefore, there is a lot of work ahead of us. We will do this work, because we want to do justice to all those who trusted AKEL for supporting the independent candidacy of Andreas Mavroyiannis, and I am very optimistic that we will achieve this."
Asked to answer which position he will maintain with Mavroyiannis, Stefanou said: "Mr. Mavroyiannis and I have built a very, very creative relationship over the months. The choice has been justified, because Andreas Mavroyiannis has inspired the people, and the people of AKEL. I heard Mr Mavroyiannis' statement earlier that he remains an active citizen, so we will meet in the streets, in the efforts, in the struggles for the reunification of our country with the solution of the Cyprus problem in the framework of a bizonal bicommunal federation, with political equality, but also in the struggles of society and workers for the progress and prosperity of the country.
In response to a suggestion that the strengthening of the Left Party led to the selection of a purely left-wing candidate, Stefanou replied that now the presidential elections have just ended, and that this breakthrough that AKEL has made was not unprecedented in its history. He added that above all, AKEL puts its perspective for a solution to the Cyprus problem and for the progress and prosperity of society in the country, and that this part of the transgression is part of AKEL's history, which has once again been justified by the response of the people.
Stefanou said that he had called Mr Christodoulides and congratulated him on his election. He added that he will subsequently go to Mr. Andreas Mavroyiannis' staff to see him and congratulate him in person, and thank him for the wonderful cooperation they have had all these months. "This trip," he added, "as Mr Mavroyiannis has said, because it really was a trip in which tens of thousands of our fellow citizens participated, with concern for Cyprus, for the good of our country."
Asked about AKEL's view on what happened to the Democratic Rally during the election campaign, Mr Stefanou said: "I will not comment, my dear. AKEL has always respected the parties, regardless of any ideological and political disagreements we may have. It is part of AKEL's attitude and ethos that we do not interfere in the internal affairs of other parties. We always address society with sincerity and honesty and we will continue to do so."
In conclusion, Mr Stefanou thanked the representatives of the media for their work today.
(AF)
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