Nicosia, Cyprus. Disy and Elam announced separate legislative proposals on Wednesday following the government’s decision to remove the “father’s name” and “mother’s name” fields from new Cyprus identity cards.
Disy said citizens should be able to choose whether their parents’ names appear on their identity cards, while Elam said the fields should become mandatory again.
Disy proposal
Disy said it disagrees with the government’s decision but maintains that every citizen should have the freedom to decide whether to remove these details from their identity card.
“The position of Disy has been and remains the same: every citizen should have the free choice as to whether they wish to remove these details from their identity card,” the party said.
It said it has prepared a bill to be submitted to the House of Representatives to provide citizens with that option.
Elam proposal
Elam said it will submit its own bill to restore the compulsory inclusion of both parents’ names on identity cards.
The party described the government’s decision as “another absurdity” imposed in the name of what it called “a non-existent progressivism”.
Elam said its proposal is intended to protect “the family and our values” and called on other political parties to clarify their positions, saying they would be judged by their actions in parliament.
Interior ministry position
The interior ministry said on Tuesday that it has no intention of reversing the change, under which new identity cards issued from July will no longer display the names of the holder’s parents.
The ministry said an identity card is presented to verify the identity of its holder, not that of their parents. Information about parents will remain available on other relevant documents, including birth certificates.