Dialogos

Reactions to Registration of Persons with Disabilities in Lobbyist Register – AKEL Submits Amendment

Published February 16, 2026, 09:02
Reactions to Registration of Persons with Disabilities in Lobbyist Register – AKEL Submits Amendment

Strong reactions are being provoked by the decision of the Deputy Ministry of Welfare to require the registration of organizations of persons with disabilities and their representatives in the lobbyist register. Organizations and volunteers promoting the rights of persons with disabilities protest that they are not lobbyists and that this process hinders their work. DIKO and the Organization of Paraplegics characterize the process as wrong and unjustified, while AKEL is promoting an amendment in Parliament to clarify that organizations representing patients and persons with disabilities do not fall under the law on lobbyists. Cyprus ranks among the last places in Europe regarding the rights of persons with disabilities, which intensifies concerns about the treatment of persons with disabilities by the state.