By Melina Demetriou
ATTORNEY-general Alecos Markides said yesterday he was aware that almost all of the 454 candidates standing in tomorrow’s Parliamentary elections had exceeded the amount of money they were allowed to spend on their campaigns, but said there was little he could do just two days ahead of the elections.
Costas Apostolides, standing as candidate of the Social Democratic party KISOS, last week sent a letter to Markides, complaining about hopefuls having spent thousands of pounds on their campaign, well in excess of the £850 limit set by the law.
In the letter dated May 21, Apostolides asked the Attorney-general to inform him whether he was planning to address the matter, but Markides had not contacted him by yesterday afternoon.
Breaking the law in question is punishable with a maximum sentence of £200 or two months in jail.
“I believe that the state should either investigate the case or declare the specific law as invalid,” Apostolides suggested in his letter.
The KISOS hopeful told the Cyprus Mail that he knew about specific candidates who had spent thousands of pounds to advertise their candidacies in newspapers on a daily basis.
Asked about the matter yesterday, Markides admitted to the Mail that, “almost all candidates, with some exceptions, have broken this law.”
“I can’t do much without having received complaints about specific candidates. Apostolides’ letter is quite general. We are here to impose the law but citizens should get their act together and file formal complains if something is to be done,” Markides suggested.
The Attorney-general said that many of those who had broken the law were former deputies.
“Imagine what would happen if I took 50 members of the last Parliament to the Supreme Court two days before the elections,” he argued.
But Markides said that a candidate who did not make it into Parliament would have a case against someone who did make it after breaking the £850 limit.
“In any case, I don’t think it’s wise for me to start an investigation two days before the elections. I’ll see how I’ll deal with it afterwards. It’s surely a tough one,” Markides said.
Apostolides has suggested that after the elections, the new Parliament should revise the law in question.
“Maybe the law should provide that a candidate could not spend more than a deputy earns per year. There should definitely be more clarity.”
When asked about how much he had spent on his campaign, Apostolides replied: “No more than £850.”
