Christmas plants as an election bribe?

A FAILED candidate for the Nicosia Municipal Council has launched an appeal at the Electoral Court against the election of a European Party (EVROKO) councillor.

Lawyer Larris Vrahimis has accused EVROKO councillor Andri Argyrou of breaching electoral law in the campaign for last December’s local elections.

Vrahimis, also standing for EVROKO, failed to gain a seat on the local council by just three votes.

Vrahimis is claiming Argyrou bribed EVROKO party members during the election campaign by sending them Christmas plants with her campaign pamphlets attached.
According to Vrahimis, her actions were aimed purely at bribing the EVROKO party members to give her their preference votes.

Vrahimis is hinging his claim on an old British colonial law, which stipulates that gifts exceeding the value of a farthing (an old British coin worth one quarter of a penny) cannot be given to political parties by candidates during elections.

EVROKO currently has two seats on the Nicosia Municipal Council.

There are a further 24 seats on the council, occupied mostly by DISY and AKEL members.

A Supreme Court Judge yesterday ordered the matter to go to trial and set a date for April 2, when the allegations will be examined.

The Electoral Court operates under the wing of the Supreme Court.

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