Newly elected President Nikos Christodoulides will be invested by the House of Representatives, as stipulated by Article 42 of the Cypriot constitution, on February 28 at 11.30am.
On that day, in front of the plenary, Christodoulides will state his “respect for the constitution and the laws made thereunder and the preservation of the independence and the territorial integrity of the Republic of Cyprus.”
The session will also mark the resumption of parliament, which has been on recess since the announcement of the state budget before Christmas, bar some extraordinary House committee meetings. New alliances will also be created, as the presidential election’s results placed both former ruling party Disy and left-wing Akel in opposition.
The three parties behind Christodoulides, Diko, Edek and Dipa, will have 16 out of 56 MPs in parliament, which could constitute an obstacle for the next administration to pass bills. However, Disy’s Averof Neophytou and Akel’s Stefanos Stefanou said in recent weeks that, should their parties lose the elections, they will behave as a responsible opposition. “You don’t need to be in the government to behave responsibly for your country,” Neohpytou said after Sunday’s election. “Therefore, the next president of the Republic can count on the support of Disy. Cyprus’ prosperity is also our priority.”
Stefanou also pledged to act as a responsible opponent to Christodoulides’ administration, making it clear that Akel would act “with responsibility, assertiveness, seriousness and patriotism”.
Far-right Elam MPs are expected to be in favour or against bills presented by the government depending on the issue at stake, as the party did not officially support Christodoulides in the second round. Elam president Christos Christou spoke of “a difference of views on key political issues with Christodoulides”, noting however that “our conscience and our concern for the future of the country do not allow us to leave its governance for the next five years in the hands of Akel.”
As far as the next Greens MPs are concerned, the picture is unclear, since the party did not officially support any of the two candidates. That said, Greens MP Alexandra Attalidou openly and strongly supported Andreas Mavroyiannis’ candidacy, as opposed to MP Stavros Papadouris, who supported Christodoulides. It is possible that members of the same party will express opposing views on bill proposals, as it already happened in past administrations.
Christodoulides will take up his official role as president on March 1. Until then, outgoing Nicos Anastasiades and his cabinet will still officially be in power.
Source: Cyprus Mail
