Galanos hands in resignation from parliament

ALEXIS Galanos, one time House president and deputy, yesterday officially handed in his letter of resignation from the House to its president Spyros Kyprianou.

Galanos, a veteran of the political scene for over two decades, was elected Diko Deputy in Famagusta district in May 1996.

Despite breaking ranks with Spyros Kyprianou’s Democratic party and backing President Clerides in the 1988 elections, both Galanos and Kyprianou yesterday insisted that they remained friends.

“We have had our differences on the political front but as individuals we are and will be friends. We both aim at the same objective, to restore human rights in Cyprus which Turkey violates through its occupation,” Galanos said.

Kyprianou said he hoped Galanos would not be absent from public life for long, and described his resignation as “an important event in the history of Cyprus”.

He also added that in his personal view, Galanos had made a “mistake” when he distanced himself from Diko. Galanos went on to found his own movement, the Eurodemocratic Renewal Party last July.

Galanos’ seat at the House will be taken by Zacharias Koulias of Diko, while Galanos said he would concentrate on serving the Eurodemocratic Renewal Party.

A disillusioned Galanos decided last week to quit politics, saying he “disagreed with the way political life was developing” in Cyprus.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.