THE editor of Turkish Cypriot daily Afrika, Sener Levent, said yesterday he had filed a case with the Supreme Court over the government’s refusal to allow him to stand as a candidate in European Parliament elections on June 13.
The government rejected Levent’s application to stand last month claiming he was not elegible because his name had not been included on the electoral register.
However, Levent told a news conference in Nicosia yesterday that there was no clause in Cyprus’ electoral law stating that one must be included on the electoral register in order to stand as a candidate.
“I was in the same situation in the north in 2000 when I stood as a candidate in the presidential election. I was a candidate, but I could not vote,” he said. He argues the same law applies in the south and in the rest of Europe.
Levent also issued a complaint that election regulations were not made clear to the Turkish Cypriot community.
“The Greek Cypriot government published a form for people to register to vote, but they did not publish the regulations so that we would know how the system works.”
He also protested against the government’s decision to close registration for potential voters on April 2.
“I believe such a decision was unjust as the situation changed totally after the referendum on April 24. If both sides had voted ‘yes’ in the referendum, the two communities would have been voting separately, meaning that all Turkish Cypriots living in the north would have automatically been put on the register. But when the Annan plan was rejected in the south it meant the two communities would be voting together, but only in the south.”
As it stands, only 503 Turkish Cypriots are registered to vote in the election.
Levent insists he is not trying to score political points against the Republic of Cyprus, but is simply seeking justice.
“As someone who supports the existence of the Republic of Cyprus, I feel I must respect the law, and so should the government. It is they who are flouting it.”
Levent believes registrations for the Turkish Cypriot community should have been reopened following the referendum to allow more Turkish Cypriots to participate. He is calling for the election to be delayed to allow for this to happen.
Chief Returning Officer Lazaros Savvides told the Cyprus Mail yesterday he had not rejected Levent’s application but had told him it would be impossible for him to stand as he had not signed up to the electoral register by the deadline. He responded to the news of Levent’s legal claim by saying: “He hasn’t got a chance to prove his case. He was very well informed about the deadline. His newspaper even carried a notice about procedures for registration. It’s his own fault.”
Savvides added that his office had done “everything possible to inform the Turkish Cypriots” on what they needed to do in order to be included on the electoral register.
