With a narrow majority, the Plenum of the House of Representatives passed an amendment to the laws on Municipalities and Communities, so that in case of a vacancy of a mayor or mayor before the next elections in May 2024, no by-election will be held.
28 MPs voted in favour and 26 against. This legislation was tabled by the Interior Ministry after the local government elections of last December were postponed for two and a half years,[/B] with the consent of the House of Representatives, so that the local government reform bills could be passed.The bills, however, are still pending in Parliament and are expected to be passed in February, so the previous legislation to hold a by-election for a seat that becomes vacant a year before the next local government election continues to apply.
Under the law passed today (Thursday), in the event of a vacancy for a mayor or community leader and until the next local government election set for May 2024, the position will be filled by the deputy mayor or deputy community leader, respectively.
At the same time, with 26 votes in favour and 28 against, amendments by DPA - Co-operation MP Marinos Mousiuttas were rejected, which would have effectively annulled the law, since they provided for the holding of a by-election in the event of a vacancy in the positions of heads of municipalities or communities.
The law that was passed also states that the term of office of the current mayors and community leaders is extended until May 2024. In the event of a vacancy for a municipal or community councilor, a by-election will not be held unless the number of councilors is reduced below the number of members required for a quorum.
The Ministry of Interior, considered these provisions necessary to give existing councils the necessary time to take the necessary actions during the transition period until the implementation of the new framework for the action and operation of local authorities in the year 2024.
In his statement before the plenary, MP Marinos Mousiuttas said that Parliament voted not to hold elections, telling people that the local government reform would be voted on in December, which has not yet happened. Now, he said, an extension is being given to a deputy mayor who was not elected and is appointed until May 2024. He said this violates the law to call an election within 45 days of the vacancy, which is already being done at least in the Municipality of Geroskipou. He added that the amendment he submitted clarifies what the existing legislation says, which is currently being violated.
AKEL MP Aristos Damianou said that the Interior Ministry is violating the existing legislation, while it wants the deputy mayor and deputy mayor to be appointed by law, without having been elected by the community for 2.5 years. This, he said, is a democratic deficit and said that they voted for the Mousiutta amendments that annul the bill.
Limassol MP Andreas Themistocleous asked why some people are afraid of elections and do not let deputy mayors or deputy mayors be judged by their fellow citizens. He added that anyone who is afraid of elections should not have a seat in this chamber and said that he voted for the Mousiutta amendments.
EDEK MP Kostis Efstathiou spoke of a regressive tendency that exists, according to which elections should be avoided because they are costly, debate because it is time-consuming and adherence to the democratic principle because it is not productive. These bills, he added, offend the very core of democracy and wondered where they would stop if they continued on this path. He cited the example of the removal of a community leader by the Minister of Interior because members of the Municipal Council disagreed with him, resulting in the Prefect performing the duties. He said he voted for the Mousiutta amendments, stating that democracy costs, but it must cost.
DIKO MP Panicos Leonidou recalled that a few days ago Parliament decided to postpone the elections in order to work to meet the popular demand for local government reform, which is being done with painstaking work and a lot of responsibility. He supported the government's bill, saying that there is an identity with the goal of the reform, and said that even one or two individual elections may cause adventures.
DISY MP Nikos Sykas said that the circumstances that led to the postponement of the elections are given and that in October the issue of postponing the elections for the next two and a half years was embedded. He also said that substantive discussion is about a 14-month election, since the law anyway provides for no election in the event of a vacancy, a year before the next election. He also said that if this law is not passed, it could possibly allow for the possibility of deliberately creating elections.
Explaining the vote of the EPP, its President Marinos Sizopoulos said that they voted against the bill because they voted to postpone the date of the elections and not to change the procedures of local government in violation of its legislation.
Source: KYPE
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