Former AKEL member Kostas Kostas alleges internal sabotage and smear campaigns

Former AKEL member of parliament Kostas Kostas has publicly accused members of his party of organizing smear campaigns and spreading false rumors against him. In a recent podcast appearance on Lemesos TV, Kostas alleged that specific party figures sought to undermine his candidacies during the 2011 and 2016 elections. He claimed that malicious individuals labeled him as uneducated to voters and circulated fabricated stories, including accusations of domestic violence. Kostas stated he has documented these rumors reaching approximately 100 families in Limassol. The accusations also touch upon his departure from the party, as he was ineligible to run for a fourth consecutive term due to term limits. Kostas argued he should have been granted an exemption, similar to colleagues Giorgos Loukaides and Aristos Damianou, but the AKEL Central Committee rejected this, citing that he did not fall within the core political group. AKEL's leadership declined to comment on these allegations.