Our View: No justification for new delay in approving code of ethics for MPs

The political parties do not seem very keen on passing the code of ethics that would set certain rules regarding the behaviour of deputies. It was set to be voted through on Thursday, but the vote was put off after a request by the leader of Edek, on the grounds that no deputy from his party sat on the House institutions committee which discussed and finalised the code. The Citizens’ Alliance leader also asked for a postponement of the vote.

Funnily enough, the draft for the code had been ready since November and had been sent to the leaders’ meeting several times for corrections, said the committee chairman Zacharias Zachariou. A draft had been sent as recently as January 15 to the party leaders, so it is difficult to understand why the Edek and Alliance chiefs wanted more time to examine it. What will they change in the next week or two?

The code, ironically, was the initiative of the disgraced former House President Demetris Syllouris who was forced to step down after being caught on camera making promises to the representatives of alleged criminals seeking Cypriot citizenship. It had initially come under criticism for its length -155 pages – as well as its content, which many claimed prevented access to information. The institutions committee began discussing it last June and finalised it in November.

With the party leaders having been given a copy of the final version last month, there was no justification for another delay in its approval. Our legislature is one of the few parliaments in Europe without a code of ethics and has been under pressure from the Council of Europe’s Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) to introduce one. We would have thought that a sense of urgency would be shown at a time when the political parties are banging on against government corruption and accusing the president of conflict of interest.

Deputies must realise that the ethical political behaviour they demand from the members of the executive must also apply to lawmakers They cannot be exempted from declaring their interests – professional, financial, family – as they have been able to do for decades. Those that are dishonest will be able to carry on being dishonest even after the introduction of the code, which is self-regulatory and relies on the cooperation of the regulated. The asset statements law proved a mockery, but it is still better than nothing and there are plans to make it effective.

The introduction of the code of ethics might not bring about a radical change in the behaviour of deputies, but it would not cause any harm either, which makes it so difficult to understand why Edek and the Alliance wanted to delay its approval. Are there any ethical rules they could want scrapped, before they give their approval? Surely not.