SPHERICAL
In the run-up to the presidential election, in the midst of the election campaign and on the occasion of the motion of censure against the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, as a state and as a citizen, I have the impression that we should reflect on how the President of the Republic of Cyprus is controlled.
< >Historical knowledge and experience from 1964 onwards show that the President of the Republic of Cyprus, whether incompetent, politically inconsistent, or corrupt and a swindler, can be controlled neither politically nor judicially. The law of necessity has overturned the possibility of control of the respective President, since all the powers, after the departure of the T/C vice-president and the T/C officials, have been transferred to his person. The bi-communal checks and balances have disappeared. As a result, the Council of Ministers can appoint and dismiss. To appoint all independent officials and all members of the semi-government. To appoint the members of EVS and EDY. To appoint around 1,000 people in key positions. In the context of the basic separation of powers of our Constitution, the Parliament can send back some bills or cut funds, but it can not exercise substantial control. The President is controlled by the Judiciary only for ultimate betrayal or if he commits a criminal and dishonorable act.
Elsewhere
In other countries with a more mature democratic system, there are procedures by which political officials can be controlled, judged, and even expelled, for a number of reasons, without having to be blamed e.g. as traitors or for attempted rape. Richard Nixon resigned over Watergate documents. President Bill Clinton was entering and leaving committees of inquiry into a stain on his pants. The Prime Minister of Hungary for copying his doctoral dissertation, the President of Germany because he bought an apartment at a discount.
In Great Britain, last week, we experienced the consequences of the “Partygate” scandal. The accusations against Prime Minister Boris Johnson, that while his government had declared a lockdown for the coronavirus, he and some of his officials violated it, having a party at the prime minister's residence on 10 Downing Street. The British citizens revolted because the Police in England imposed severe penalties on the citizens, in compliance with the law, but the British Prime Minister considered that it was above the law. A motion of censure has been filed against Boris Johnson by his own party, demanding that he be removed as Prime Minister. The motion of censure in a total of 359 was voted against by 211 members of the Tories, while 148 voted in favor. It finally managed, temporarily, to win the vote of confidence and to remain. However, as the Guardian notes, “the fact that almost 40% of Conservative MPs do not want Johnson to stay in power presupposes developments in the immediate future, although Johnson can practically not be challenged for next year. ».
In Cyprus
Κατ & # 8217; analogy, in order for us all to understand institutionally how far behind we are, consider the case of AKEL or DISY filing a motion of censure with a request for the resignation of Dimitris Christofias or Nikos Anastasiadis. How many years of political light are we behind?
The presidential system of Cyprus, in any case, does not provide for a motion of censure, so the control of the President becomes even more difficult. The phenomenon is constantly repeated:
* Tassos Papadopoulos managed to overcome the allegations about Milosevic's companies, the 10 billion that the Serbian State is still looking for and the public legal disputes with the Financial Times.
* Dimitris Christofias overcame Complaints of the contractor Miltis for debts for construction works at his house in Engomi. Of course, an investigation was carried out against the case in Marie, he was charged with political responsibilities but he was not obliged to resign.
* Nikos Anastasiadis ignores reactions to free leisure travel to the Seychelles by his Saudi friend, in violation of the code of conduct he imposed on his ministers in 2013 and 2018, warning any would-be offender of the punishment of political beheading.
In all three cases, if Cyprus had a mature Republic and we were a benevolent state, at least inquiries should be ordered by independent officials of this country, who should have the right (this is important) to proceed legally. cases. In the United States, Donald Trump, while President, had two investigations against him, one by Congress and one by an independent criminal investigator.
In Cyprus, of course, as evidenced by answers to our relevant questions, there is no legislation under which an independent authority can bring a President of the Republic to court, unless he is accused of high treason or murder or rape! For everything else, the current President of the Republic receives criticism from the media, but legally he is unharmed. For example, we can all know from state budgets that a President's salary is 100,000 euros a year, to deposit this information in his Pothen Esches, but at the same time declare that he is a millionaire, but not break his nose . He can travel with jets of various Russians who have obtained a passport of the Republic of Cyprus and are wanted by their countries, but nothing is running. Lawyers in his law firm may try to strike deals with airlines he heads, falsely claiming to work for another law firm, but who cares?
We reiterate that the current President of the Republic of Cyprus is prosecuted only for ultimate betrayal, rape or if he kills a citizen in the middle of the street. If, for example, the car of the Presidential Guard, running at breakneck speed at the intersection before the Presidential Palace, violating the traffic lights, literally dismantles the car of the journalist Stella Sourmelis, as happened with Tassos Papadopoulos, of course there is no issue. The current President of the Republic of Cyprus has the right to run “like a horse” and to violate all the provisions of the traffic code. The outrage is that his car is driven by police officers, who are responsible for enforcing the law.
The presidential candidates
Based on the above reflection, we expect all the candidates for the Presidency of 2023 to have a clear position on this huge deficit that our country presents, which, to be precise, is not only a deficit of Democracy, but also a vehicle of corruption./p>
The Constitution we have left in 1964 based on the Law of Necessity no longer serves this country. It does not serve the necessary control of power, it does not serve transparency and accountability to the executive.
So far, many points of this Constitution have changed, so the excuse that any change creates problems of constitutional order for the Republic of Cyprus is probably unfounded.
We must immediately proceed with a reform of the Constitution, with the main aim of removing responsibilities from the President. An effective control process must be established. He cannot appoint everyone and everything. The logic of being surrounded by his own people, makes sense for his Council of Ministers and 5-10 people in the Presidential Palace. It cannot appoint the Attorney General, the Auditor General, the Commissioner of Administration, the presidents of RIK, EAC, CYTA, the members of EDY and EVS. It can not even appoint the mukhtars of our occupied villages.
A democratic and transparent way of appointing some state and other officials must be found through a change in the Constitution. This will allow the operation of independent competitive institutions, something that will lead the Republic of our country to further deepen, will bring more meritocracy and transparency.
Cyprus must, after the 2023 presidential elections, start striving to become a normal European state. In this effort, of course, it is not enough for politicians to change. The legislative framework needs to be changed, which so far allows the current President of the Republic to function as an elected dictator. But most of all, we all need to change.
