Three political parties launched coordinated attacks on Tuesday against Odysseas Michaelides, leader of Alma and former auditor-general, following a Politis report revealing correspondence that shows he overrode repeated warnings from European Union technical advisers during the tendering process for the Pentakomo waste management unit, insisting that lowest price be the sole criterion for awarding the contract.
Diko, Akel and Edek each issued separate statements accusing Michaelides of having caused serious financial and environmental damage to the public through what they variously described as "obsessions," "authoritarianism" and dangerous decision-making. The attacks come less than two weeks before the 24 May parliamentary elections, in which Michaelides is standing as Alma's lead candidate in Nicosia.
The Pentakomo case
The Politis report, based on email correspondence and documents, shows that JASPERS, the technical advisory body of the EU and the European Investment Bank for large-scale projects, warned repeatedly as far back as August 2013 that the tender for the Pentakomo integrated waste management facility had to be based on techno-economic criteria and proven experience, not exclusively on lowest price. The JASPERS representative, identified in the correspondence as Mr Tilly, explicitly warned that proceeding without requiring bidders to demonstrate SRF production experience would constitute "a very large risk," and that the opposite of what Michaelides feared would occur: adding a technical criterion would strengthen, not undermine, the process.
Michaelides rejected the advice, writing in bold in one exchange: "This is our approach." He also sought to discredit the foreign experts, describing them in meeting minutes as "biased" and their criticism as "not at all constructive." The contract was ultimately awarded at €19 per tonne, against a competing offer of €56, which Michaelides presented as a success. The unit was subsequently delivered with the wrong technology, produced unusable fuel derived from processed municipal solid waste, never met its targets and effectively became an expensive landfill. Today, more than 90% of waste at the site is being buried, against the EU directive limit of 5 to 10%. Approximately €40 million in EU co-financing was never received or was returned due to non-compliance.
Diko: '€40 million cost to taxpayers'
In its statement, Diko said the Politis revelations "once again expose the extreme and problematic manner in which Odysseas Michaelides behaves." The party accused him of insisting that lowest price be the sole criterion despite clear advice to the contrary from the European Investment Bank's technical advisers, resulting in a project that "collapsed" and a unit that became "a landfill with no processing or recycling." Diko put the cost to taxpayers at €40 million, attributing it directly to Michaelides' "manias and obsessions."
Akel: Stefanou threatens to release confidential minutes
Akel secretary-general Stefanos Stefanou used the occasion to also address a separate allegation made by Michaelides, who claimed on CyBC that Stefanou had pressured then Energy Minister Giorgos Papanastassiou to award contracts in connection with the Vasiliko LNG project to specific subcontractors. Stefanou flatly denied the claim and called on Papanastassiou to confirm publicly whether he had ever received any such intervention from him.
"If Michaelides continues to lie, I will request that the confidential parliamentary minutes be made public so we can see what was actually said," Stefanou warned. "It will then be fully revealed that, for the sake of a few votes and to satisfy his belief that he is the only incorruptible person, Odysseas Michaelides is prepared to smear people and destroy reputations." Stefanou reminded that he had described Vasiliko as "a major scandal" three days before the relevant Energy Committee session and had himself written to the Anti-Corruption Authority requesting an investigation into the affair.
Edek: 'You are seeking votes to continue your dangerous public activity'
Edek was equally pointed, saying the Pentakomo correspondence "raises reasonable questions in society about his motives." The party said Michaelides, beyond being removed from office, "not only did not pay for his decisions, but is now seeking the public's vote in order to fight the system and continue his dangerous public activity." Edek said similar practices had been followed in other cases at significant cost, and criticised what it described as a pattern of authoritarianism that defined his tenure as auditor-general.
Michaelides was removed from the post of auditor-general by a Supreme Constitutional Court ruling in September 2024. He launched Alma in May 2025, presenting it as a reform movement committed to institutional renewal and anti-corruption. A recent poll showed the party polling at around 9% ahead of the elections.
