THE OPPOSITION-dominated parliament yesterday demanded the resignation of President Demetris Christofias, holding him responsible for the July 11 naval base explosion that killed 13 men and put the island’s main power station out of action.
In a resolution passed by majority vote, the plenum urged Christofias to assume his responsibility and submit his resignation, thus contributing to the creation of a climate of stability and avoiding unnecessary polarisation, bigotry and division.
The resolution is not binding as Cyprus has a presidential system of government.
It was passed with the 33 votes of opposition parties. Ruling AKEL’s 18 MPs voted against.
The late afternoon vote followed a lengthy session that started in the morning, during which opposition lawmakers demanded the president’s resignation.
AKEL, Christofias’ only defender in parliament, rejected the calls.
Calls for Christofias’ resignation started immediately after the blast but intensified at the end of September after an inquiry held him responsible for the tragedy.
The report by independent investigator Polys Polyviou, issued on September 30, said he was personally and politically responsible for the events.
The report is not binding.
Christofias refused to resign, saying the findings were unsubstantiated.
The president also charged that Polyviou had overstepped his mandate.
Main opposition DISY chief Nicos Anastassiades said he agreed that Christofias and AKEL have the right to disagree but the president ought to have honoured his pledge to assume his responsibility if the report blamed him.
“So the president was obliged to honour his pledge, either by resigning or asking for renewal of his mandate,” Anastassiades said.
He could have also done the least – apologise for his wrongdoings and, citing the short remainder of his term, invite parties to jointly handle the problems faced by the country.
Marios Garoyian, whose DIKO party abandoned the coalition government around a month after the incident, said Christofias did not do what he ought to have done and “that is why in the eyes of the people he ceased to be seen as being able to lead the country forward or provide solutions for the big problems.”
The leader of DIKO, which has forged an alliance of sorts with AKEL in the upcoming municipal elections, suggested that Christofias cannot operate efficiently and productively and under the circumstances he cannot remain in power.
“The president’s voluntary resignation constitutes the greatest political deed, which strengthens institutions even more,” Garoyian said. “It is the least painful way out in a clearly political problem.”
DISY and DIKO were echoed by socialist EDEK.
Instead of the president assuming his responsibility, parties became witness to a “vile propaganda directed by the AKEL leadership against anyone who dared to utter an opinion that was different than theirs,” EDEK MP Nicos Nicolaides said.
AKEL chief Andros Kyprianou rejected the accusations, saying that the blast was caused by the inadequate safety measures put in place.
“The loss of human life is due to the total disregard and violation of safety rules,” Kyprianou said.
Kyprianou said the president accepted his responsibility “but we cannot accept that the president bares personal responsibility for what happened.”
