Fidias Panayiotou’s party demanded the resignation of Cyprus’s Attorney General and his deputy

The political crisis surrounding the investigation into former Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades (2013–2023) has moved into the legislative arena. MP Diana Konstantinidu submitted a resolution to the House of Representatives on behalf of the newly formed party «Direct Democracy» (Direct Democracy), created by MEP and blogger Fidias Panayiotou. The document calls for the immediate resignation of Attorney General George Savvides and his deputy Savvas Angelides, which, according to the authors of the initiative, is necessary to restore citizens’ critically undermined trust in the republic’s key legal institutions.

The confrontation was fueled by the findings of the anti-corruption authority, which examined facts from the high-profile investigative book by journalist Makarios Drousiotis, «Mafia State». According to the investigators’ conclusion, Anastasiades’ actions show signs of abuse of power sufficient for criminal prosecution, although the former president completely rejects the allegations. Earlier, this had already triggered mass protests in Nicosia organized by the opposition parties AKEL and Volt, which are also insisting on a change in the leadership of the legal service.

An additional catalyst for the discontent was a procedural impasse: Savvides and Angelides recused themselves because of a conflict of interest and a personal friendship with the person at the center of the case, after which the Cabinet announced its intention to independently form a group of independent investigators. The opposition blocs AKEL and ALMA categorically challenged this decision, pointing to the inappropriateness of interference by current President Nikos Christodoulides, who served as an official in the Anastasiades administration and is being questioned as a witness in the case. In the opposition’s view, the selection of investigators should remain with the independent anti-corruption authority, not the executive branch.