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Municipal
Elections
Local
Authorities
There are two
types of local authorities: Municipalities and
Communities Councils. Municipalities account
for about 60 per cent of the population, while
353 Communities Councils cover the rest of the
population. The functions of Municipalities are
determined by the Municipalities' Law of 1985.
Their finances derive from municipal taxes,
fees and duties as well as state
subsidies.
Municipalities
In October 1985, a
new comprehensive law on local government, the
Municipalities' Law 111 of 1985, was passed by
the House of Representatives. This Law has
since been amended by 25 amending Laws. In
addition to the six principal (Nicosia,
Limassol, Famagusta, Larnaca, Paphos and
Kyrenia) and nine rural municipalities, the Law
provided for the establishment of new
municipalities. According to this Law, any
community may become a municipality by local
referendum, subject to the approval of the
Council of Ministers, provided it has either a
population of more than 5,000 or has the
economic resources to function as a
municipality. Eleven new municipalities were
established in 1986, five in 1994 and one more
in 1996, increasing the number to
thirty-three.
Since the Turkish
invasion of 1974 and the subsequent occupation
of the northern part of Cyprus by Turkey, nine
municipalities (Famagusta, Kyrenia, Morphou,
Kythrea, Karavas, Lapithos, Lefkonikon,
Akanthou and Lyssi), although still maintaining
their legal status, have been temporarily
relocated to the free areas.
Note: For more
information please refer to the Union of
Cyprus Municipalities and the Cyprus Union of
Communities.
Municipal
elections
Municipal
elections 1996
Municipal
elections were held on 15 December 1996 in the
33 municipalities of Cyprus. They were the
third such elections since the establishment of
the Republic of Cyprus in 1960.
The first
municipal elections took place in 1986 and the
second ones five years later in 1991. Elections
for Improvement Boards and Village Authorities
started in 1984 and were followed by elections
in 1989 and 1994. In April 1994 there were
municipal elections for the five new
municipalities of Yermasoyia, Ayia Napa,
Dherynia, Yeroskipou and Peyia. Dhali became a
municipality in 1996.
All citizens over
the age of 18 have the right to vote and voting
is compulsory.
The corporate
structure of municipalities is defined by the
1985 comprehensive law. Mayors are elected
directly by the citizens for a term of five
years and are the executive authority of the
municipalities.
Municipal
Councils, which are the policy-making bodies of
the municipalities, are elected directly by the
citizens for a term of five years. The number
of Municipal Councillors depends on the size of
the local electorate (a minimum of eight and a
maximum of twenty six).
In the 15 December
1996 elections, a total of 315.000 voters (out
of which 9.947 were first-time voters) elected
Mayors and Councillors for the 24
municipalities in the free
government-controlled areas of the island and
for the nine municipalities in the
Turkish-occupied north.
A total of 565
polling stations operated, 460 of these for the
free areas and 105 for municipalities under
occupation. Refugees had the right to vote
twice, for the municipalities they are
temporarily residents of and for the
municipalities of their origin.
For the first
time, the counting of ballots took place at the
polling stations and this process speeded up
the announcement of results.
Independent and
party alliances mayoral candidates contested
for the posts in 21 out of 24 municipalities in
the government controlled towns and in five out
of nine municipalities in the Turkish occupied
part.
Seven candidates
had earlier (26 November 1996) been elected
Mayor unopposed.
They were:
a) Free
areas:
 |
Paralimni - Mr Nicos
Vlittis |
DISY-DIKO |
|
Ayia Napa- Ms Varvara
Pericleous |
Independent |
|
Pano Lefkara- Mr
Sophoclis Sophocleous |
EDEK |
b) Occupied
areas:
|
Lefkoniko-Mr
Lycourgos Kappas |
DISY |
|
Akanthou-Mr Sotiris
Hailos |
|
|
Kyrenia-Ms Elli
Leptou |
|
|
Lapithos-Mr Nicos
Evangelou |
|
As a result
of the 15 December elections, the following
candidates were elected Mayor:
|
Nicosia Mr Lellos
Demetriades |
Independent
|
|
Strovolos Mr Savvas
Eliofotou |
Independent
|
|
Aglandjia Mr Andreas
Petrou |
AKEL |
|
Ayios Dhometios Mr
Andreas Hadjiloizou |
IIndependent |
|
Lakatamia Mr
Christakis Violaris |
AKEL |
|
Latsia Mr Christakis
Christofides |
DISY-DIKO |
|
Engomi Mr Ioannis
Kallis |
DIKO-DISY |
|
Dhali Mr Yiannis
Groutas |
AKEL |
|
Limassol Mr Dimitris
Kontidis |
AKEL-EDEK |
|
Ayios Athanasios Mr
Kyriacos Hadjittofi |
AKEL |
|
Kato Polemidia Mr
Costas Thomas |
AKEL-EDEK |
|
Mesa Yitonia Mr
Stelios Markides |
AKEL-EDEK |
|
Yermasoyia Mr Panicos
Louroutziatis |
AKEL-EDEK |
|
Dherynia Ms Florentia
Ioannou |
AKEL |
|
Larnaca Mr Georghios
Lycourgos |
DIKO-DISY |
|
Aradippou Mr
Christakis Liperis |
Independent |
|
Athienou Mr
Panayiotis Koumi |
Independent |
|
Paphos Mr Phidias
Sarikas |
AKEL-EDEK |
|
Polis Chrysochou Mr
Mich. Stylianou (Koraka) |
AKEL-EDEK |
|
Peyia Mr Dimitris
Kappetzis |
DIKO-DISY |
|
Yeroskipou Mr
Menelaos Christodoulou |
Independent |
|
Famagusta Mr Andreas
Pouyiouros |
Independent |
|
Lysi Mr Ionas
Papaioannou |
Independent |
|
Karavas Mr Panayiotis
Tsentas |
Independent |
|
Morphou Ms Antigoni
Papadopoulou |
DISY-AKEL-DIKO |
|
Kythrea Mr Costas
Frangoudis |
DISY-AKEL-DIKO
-EDEK-United
Democrats |
In the elections
for municipal councillors, out of a total of
384 posts, in all municipalities of Cyprus,
political parties or party alliances had the
following results:
Furthermore, in the
seven (out of nine) occupied municipalities of
Kyrenia, Kythrea, Lefkoniko, Akanthou, Lysi,
Karavas and Lapithos, with a total of 56
municipal councillors (eight in each one),
political parties had decided on common
candidates and therefore no election was
carried out.
The representative
body of Municipalities in Cyprus is the Union
of Cyprus Municipalities, which was established
in 1981 with the primary aim of upgrading Local
Government in Cyprus. This was achieved to a
great extent by the 1985 new comprehensive law
on local government, the Municipalities'
Law.
The Union of
Cyprus Municipalities has in the meantime
developed a wide spectrum of activities for the
protection of the interests of the
Municipalities in their mission for upgrading
and expanding their services towards their
citizens.
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