Charalambides hints at departure from Akel to Alma for May elections

Irene Charalambides, currently an MP for Akel, has signalled that she is preparing to contest the May parliamentary elections, with indications pointing to a candidacy on the Alma party ticket in the Nicosia district.

She told television channel Alpha that she is  “leaning in this direction” when asked about seeking another term, adding that she was accustomed to “leaping without a safety net”, a remark widely interpreted as pointing towards Alma, the movement led by former auditor-general Odysseas Michaelides, given that ‘Alma’ is Greek for ‘leap’.

Informal contacts are alleged to have taken place between Charalambides and Alma, without a final decision.

Sources close to the matter informed the Cyprus Mail  that the MP has also received approaches from Diko, while Volt has also apparently shown interest.

Charalambides is unable to stand again under Akel rules, which impose a term limit.

Akel limits its MPs to two terms in parliament, with the party’s internal rules having changed to reflect this in 2023. Charalambides has now served three terms, and is, as such ineligible to stand on the party’s ballot in May.

The party leadership had proposed continued cooperation outside parliament, including the creation of an observatory for corruption and collusion under her leadership.

Despite a meeting with Akel leader Stefanos Stefanou, discussions did not progress.

Stefanou has said the party still wishes to talk.

“Cooperation with people who contributed to the party’s work is not exhausted by their participation in parliament,” he said, stressing that no specific proposal is currently on the table.

Publicly, Charalambides has framed herself as politically unbound.

“I served the left very faithfully for 15 whole years,” she said in a television interview.

“To use football terms, I am now a free agent.”

Tensions, meanwhile, surfaced between Alma and the Ecologists’ Movement, which accused Michaelides of attempting to lure away one of its already announced candidates, Miltos Papadopoulos.

The Ecologists’ Movement described the move as “political immorality” and warned it could affect future cooperation ahead of the 2028 presidential election.

Michaelides rejected the accusation, exclaiming that “every person has the right to decide the party for which they wish to run”.

He said his contact with Papadopoulos was limited and added that any future cooperation would depend on Papadopoulos’s own choice.