Paphos, Cyprus. The plenary session of the Paphos municipal council was suspended on Monday afternoon after absences and withdrawals linked to developments involving mayor Phedonas Phedonos.
The session began with 15 of the 25 council members present before being halted following the withdrawal of four members of the municipal Akel group.
Absences and request for postponement
Members of the Diko and Edek municipal groups, an Elam municipal councillor, the Anthropini Poli municipal councillor, one of Depa municipal councillors Nikolas Kesidis, and the deputy mayor sent a joint letter to Municipal Secretary Themis Filippides informing him of their absence.
In the letter, they requested the meeting be postponed, citing Monday’s public announcement “according to which the interior ministry is awaiting an official response from the police, in order to decide on the next institutional steps in relation to the Paphos mayor”.
“Given that a possible decision by the interior ministry is pending under article 113 of the Municipalities Law,” the letter said, “we request the postponement of today’s meeting, not as a judgment on the merits or disrespect for the presumption of innocence of the mayor, but out of institutional prudence and respect for the process and society, until there is an official and clear position of the state.”
“Our goal is for the plenary to function with complete institutional clarity and without shadows,” it added.
Attendance and meeting procedures
Seven Disy municipal councillors attended the session, while councillor Linos Tsokkas was absent with leave. Also present were Depa councillor Euclides Ambrosiades and Salvation of Paphos Movement municipal councillor Michalis Hadjimitsis.
At the start of the meeting, Phedonos said the session would be held behind closed doors due to the tenders board set to be discussed, while allowing media representatives to take photographs before leaving.
Akel position
At the beginning of the meeting, Akel said that, given the ongoing investigation into serious cases against the mayor and the pending possibility of his leave, it was necessary to take a “clear and responsible stance, guided by political ethics, institutional order and the protection of the prestige of the local government”.
Akel requested the postponement of the meeting to preserve the unity of the municipal council.
What do you think the municipal council should do while awaiting the interior ministry’s next steps?
