TODAY’S presidential elections should not be viewed as normal elections, in which the people will choose the man who will run the country for the next five years. They are much more important than that.
TODAY’S presidential elections should not be viewed as normal elections, in which the people will choose the man who will run the country for the next five years. They are much more important than that.
These elections are, in reality, more like a referendum on whether we want a Cyprus solution or not. We are not talking about a solution that will be negotiated intermittently, over the next five to 10 years, as has been past practice, but one based on the Kofi Annan peace plan which will have to be signed and sealed in the next few months.
There has already been much speculation about the submission of an amended plan by the United Nations before the end of the month, in the hope of securing an agreement before the February 28 deadline set by the UN Secretary-general. Press reports have also suggested that the revised plan would be submitted on a take-it-or-leave-it basis, so that the prospect of new rounds of interminable negotiations could be avoided. Tomorrow, Greece and Turkey are scheduled to begin talks about military and security issues in the event of a Cyprus solution, while a week later Annan is scheduled to visit Athens, Ankara and Nicosia. As President Clerides has said, he will not be coming here for a holiday.
Ideally, given these imminent developments and the time pressure, all the political parties should have agreed to extend President Clerides’ term for another six to 12 months so that continuity at the negotiating table can be ensured. But personal ambitions and petty party interests have prevented this from happening. Instead, people have been subjected to a divisive and corrosive election campaign, in which political point-scoring, disingenuous rhetoric and empty slogans have dominated all ‘debate’. The promise by the Tassos Papadopoulos camp to bring “change” may have sounded good, but is change desirable as far as our negotiating team is concerned? Would it be really wise or helpful to change chief negotiator and his advisers so late in the day and replace them with people who will have to be briefed from scratch?
It is not even as if the elections are being fought over acceptance or rejection of the peace plan. Three of the of four main candidates, who together command more than 90 per cent of the vote, have pledged to work for a solution based on the Annan plan. Only New Horizons leader Nicos Koutsou is standing as an opponent of the plan and his share of the vote is unlikely to exceed three per cent. Given the absence of any differences on the plan, the election debate has focused on which candidate can negotiate a better deal. Both Alecos Markides and Papadopoulos have accused Clerides of occasional poor handling of the problem and questioned his ability to negotiate because of his age, both claiming that they would come up with more favourable results for the Greek Cypriot side if they were in charge. But these are totally meaningless boasts that cannot be put to the test until it is too late.
But they had to say something to justify their candidacy, especially Markides who has been probably the most important member of Clerides’ negotiating team. In the end, Markides and Papadopoulos have tried to undermine the reason Clerides gave for seeking re-election for 16 months — rapid developments in the Cyprus problem — the theory being that a president who would deal with domestic issues was also required. His government’s domestic record has been disappointing, with Clerides interested exclusively in the peace talks and the drive for membership of the European Union.
But their argument has collapsed, because serious developments are expected in the last week of February — Annan’s three-day visit, suggesting the UN is determined to make one last push to have an agreement signed by the end of the month.
Given that there will be real developments, including the probable submission of a revised plan, it would make a lot of sense for Clerides to stay in office and finish what he had started. He has handled the peace talks with consummate skill — it is thanks to him that the Turkish side is being blamed for the lack of progress — and has ensured, with help from the government of Greece, that there would be no major obstacles to Cyprus’ entry into the EU. With regard to Greece, his very close co-operation with Prime Minister Costas Simitis has been extremely helpful to Cyprus, both on the EU and peace talks front. No other candidate could conceivably claim that he could establish a closer and more productive working relationship with the Greek government. Add to this the fact that he is trusted and respected by the international community, and it is very difficult to come up with any convincing argument for his replacement at this most critical time in the country’s history.
We believe that this not the time to change a successful negotiating team, if we are genuinely committed to a Cyprus settlement. Papadopoulos and Markides may be capable of doing a better job of running the country and presiding over domestic issues than Clerides, but that is not the priority at present. And what about the danger that a man elected president for the first time would be reluctant to sign an agreement that does away with his presidency? This is not mentioned as a character weakness on the part of any candidate, it is simply part of human nature.
Clerides, in contrast, asked for only 16 months and for a very good reason. Of all the candidates he is the safest bet to seize the opportunity for a settlement and put his signature on the dotted line. And we must bear in mind that if we miss this opportunity there might not be another one. That is why today’s elections are so important, and must be seen as nothing more than a referendum on a solution.
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.
