House approves referendum bill

AFTER some delay, the House of Representatives yesterday passed a bill paving the way for the historic referendum on the future of Cyprus to be executed on April 24. ADIK leader and deputy Dinos Michaelides delayed the bill’s passing, questioning the authority of parliament to pass such a bill, which could lead to the dissolution of the state.

The House Interior Committee met twice yesterday, before the bill could be put before the plenum for a vote. All deputies present voted in favour, while Michaelides left the room minutes before the voting began.

Interior Minister Andreas Christou, who was at parliament to discuss the bill, said the bill’s primary aim was to give the leader of the Greek Cypriot community the power and assistance to carry out a referendum.

His ministry would give President Tassos Papadopoulos the tools he needed to conduct a referendum for the Greek Cypriot community, which will be funded by a Central Bank loan.

Under the bill, Papadopoulos, and not the state, is responsible for practical arrangements of the referendum.

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.