House committee agrees on who will preside over other committees

The House selection committee on Tuesday agreed on presidents for the 16 parliamentary committees and scheduled a new meeting for Wednesday to decide on the deputy chairs and members.

The committee met under House president Annita Demetriou, where all parties submitted their suggestions for deputy chairmanships and the committee members.

Each committee will have up to 11 MPS, three each from Disy and Akel, two from Diko and three others from the four smaller parties – Edek, Dipa, Elam and the Greens.

After intensive and acrimonious negotiations last week, political parties had agreed on how to divide the House chairmanships, with Disy and Akel each securing five, Diko three and Edek, the Greens and Dipa one each. Far right Elam was controversially given the chair of the ad hoc committee on demographics.

Citing sources, the Cyprus News Agency said Disy’s deputy president and former finance minister Haris Georgiades will be chairman of the House foreign committee, Efthymios Diplaros will chair the health committee, parliamentary spokesman Nicos Tornaritis the legal affairs committee, spokesman Demetris Demetriou the institutions committee and Kyriakos Hadjiyiannis the commerce committee.

Akel MPs will chair five committees as follows: Aristos Damianou, interior committee, Irene Charalambidou human rights, Andreas Kafkalias labour, Nicos Kettiros refugees and Yiannakis Gavriel agriculture.

Diko’s deputy president Christiana Erotocritou will retain the chairmanship of the House finance committee and Zacharias Koulias that of the watchdog committee. Limassol MP Pavlos Mylonas will take the chairmanship of the education committee.

Edek president Marinos Sizopoulos will remain president of the House defence committee, Dipa will take the presidency of the transport committee with either Marinos Moushouttas or Alecos Tryfonides, Greens’ president Charalambos Theopemptou will be president of the House environment committee while Elam is likely to name Linos Papayiannis to chair the ad hoc committee on demographics.