The Progressive Party of Working People (Greek: Ανορθωτικό Κόμμα Εργαζόμενου Λαού, Anorthotikó Kómma Ergazómenou Laoú; abbr. ΑΚΕΛ, AKEL; Turkish: Emekçi Halkın İlerici Partisi) is a Marxist–Leninist^[4][5][12] communist party^[2][3] in Cyprus.

AKEL is one of the two major parties in Cyprus, and it supports a federal solution of the internal aspect of the Cyprus problem and it places particular emphasis on rapprochement with the Turkish Cypriots. It supported entry into the European Union with certain reservations. Initially supportive of the Annan Plan in 2004, the AKEL ultimately opposed the plan because the UN Security Council did not provide guarantees on post-reunification security.^[13]

As a strong supporter of welfare benefits and nationalization, AKEL successfully put into practice several social measures to support the economic welfare of Cypriots during the late-2000s financial crisis, such as increasing low pensions by 30% and strengthening the welfare benefits given to university students to €12 million per year. Overall, €1.2 billion were spent on welfare benefits during the first three years that AKEL was in power, with various improvements made in social welfare provision.^[4][5] The party has been in opposition since the 2013 election. The party's candidate was defeated in the 2018 presidential election against the incumbent president. For the 2023 presidential election, the party supported independent candidate Andreas Mavroyiannis, who was also defeated.^[14]

It was founded in 1926 with the name Communist Party of Cyprus (CPC; Greek: Κομμουνιστικό Κόμμα Κύπρου, Turkish: Kıbrıs Komünist Partisi). The communist party set as its aim not only the struggle against exploitation, but also the independence of Cyprus from British rule. The party became illegal in 1931 when the British colonial government-imposed restrictions on civil rights following the Cyprus revolt riot. In 1941, leading members of the underground communist party and others founded AKEL. In the first municipal elections in 1943 (before that mayors were appointed) AKEL candidates became mayors of Limassol (Ploutis Servas) and Famagusta (Adam Adamantos).

Unlike its predecessor, AKEL was not against Enosis. Instead, AKEL supported a gradual process, starting off with a constitution and self-government, while Cyprus would remain a colony, leading to self-determination and Enosis. After the failure of the consultative assembly in 1949 to grant a constitution acceptable to the Cypriot members, AKEL changed line, supporting immediate Enosis with no intermediate stages.

During the late 1950s, AKEL was opposed to the violent tactics followed by the anti-British resistance movement of EOKA. EOKA accused AKEL of being collaborators with the British, even though AKEL had also been illegal since 1955. Several AKEL members were assassinated by EOKA at the time for being "traitors", including AKEL supporter Savas Menikou, who was stoned to death. AKEL denounced EOKA's leadership as being anti-communist, as its leader George Grivas had fought against the communist side during the Greek Civil War. Grivas later founded EOKA B, which supported the 1974 coup d'état following his death.

About 1958, the Turkish Cypriot nationalist organization TMT started forcing Turkish Cypriots members of AKEL to leave. Editor of a workers' newspaper Fazıl Önder was killed and the head of the Turkish bureau of PEO (AKEL's trade union) Ahmet Sadi moved to the UK to save his life.

In the first presidential elections for independent Cyprus, AKEL backed Ioannis Kliridis (father of Glafkos Klerides) against Makarios III. The last Turkish Cypriot to be a member of the central committee of AKEL, Derviş Ali Kavazoğlu, was killed by TMT in 1965.

In the mid 1960s the U.S. State Department estimated the party membership to be approximately 10,000 (3.25% of the working age population).^[15]

The party's youth wing is the United Democratic Youth Organisation, which was founded in 1959.

• 2004–2009 Adamos Adamou
• 2004–2014 Kyriacos Triantaphyllides
• 2009–2019 Takis Hadjigeorgiou
• 2014–2019 Neoklis Sylikiotis
• 2019–present Niyazi Kızılyürek
• 2019–present Giorgos K. Georgiou

• 1936–1945 Ploutis Servas
• 1945–1949 Fifis Ioannou
• 1949–1988 Ezekias Papaioannou
• 1988–2009 Dimitris Christofias (6th President of the Republic of Cyprus)
• 2009–2021 Andros Kyprianou^[23]
• 2021–present Stefanos Stefanou