House finance committee approves €590,000 for armoured presidential limousine

Nicosia, Cyprus. The House finance committee on Monday approved the government’s request to allocate €590,000 for the purchase of a new armoured presidential limousine, according to reports. MPs from Disy, Akel, Diko and Elam voted in favour, while Alma voted against.

Committee decision

Newspaper Phileleftheros and business news website Stockwatch reported that the plans had been approved by the cabinet in July.

The committee meeting was held behind closed doors.

Akel response

Akel MP Aristos Damianou said afterwards that “no reasonable person disagrees with the need to protect the institution of the president of the republic” and that the need for an armoured vehicle was “self-evident”.

He questioned why President Nikos Christodoulides had said he was unaware of a cabinet decision made on July 16, a meeting over which he presided.

Damianou said technical matters did not concern parliament, which dealt with the substance of the request. He said there was a substantive need for the vehicle but also an institutional issue concerning how the president had presented the matter to society.

President’s statement

Christodoulides on Saturday denied having knowledge of plans to purchase a new armoured limousine and accused someone in parliament of leaking the information to damage him politically.

“I was informed this morning by the press about this intention to make a purchase. I knew nothing about it,” he told journalists.

Elam supports allocation

Elam MP Marios Pelekanos defended the government, saying clarifications had been provided regarding the procedure followed, which he said had been applied for many years.

He said that, in this case and on the previous two occasions, a specific procedure had been followed. Pelekanos added that the cost of the vehicle was considered normal and that Elam supported approving the allocation.