Election spending to be limited with new bill

THE INTERIOR Ministry will submit a bill to Parliament in May for the upgrade of legislation regarding politicians’ pre-election campaigns.

The ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Lazaros Savvides, told the House Institutions Committee on Thursday that the ministry was planning to promote a more modern and unified law, that would specify the exact amounts that could be spent on pre-election campaigns, as well as the nature of political advertisements.

Following the meeting, Committee Chairman Rikkos Erotokritou of the European Party said the promotion of political parties and their candidates during pre-election periods was a massive chapter that was backed and covered by many different laws.

He added that the committee had suggested the creation of an independent body, which would be in charge of supervising election expenses, as well as the time available for television channels to air political advertisements.

He explained that it was the usual tactic in Cyprus, for parties to organise concerts, during which the party’s political leader sends out political messages that weren’t controlled by the law.

Erotokritou said the matter would be addressed again, once the Committee has received the proposal by the Interior Ministry in May, along with the opinions of those implicated in the matter.

He added that there were European Directives and decisions by the European Commission that would need to be taken into consideration during any legislative amendments.

According to Erotokritou, Lazarides had accepted the committee’s decision for the creation of an independent committee to monitor the goings-on of pre-election campaigns.

Late last year the government was criticised after it was revealed that a £50,000 donation was made to President Papadopoulos’ 2003 election campaign from a foreign company. The state makes contributions to all parties and although they are obliged to reveal total donations, individuals’ names to not have to be uncovered.

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.