Kyrenia district elections ‘a symbol of struggle’

Candidacies are being submitted for local elections for the Kyrenia district on Thursday, with the elections set to take place on June 9.

The Kyrenia district’s local government system has been exempted from the reforms which have swept the rest of the country, as all of its local government institutions operate in exile.

As such, in each of the Kyrenia district’s three municipalities, Kyrenia, Lapithos and Karavas, there will be one mayor, eight municipal councillors, and seven school board members.

Among the first to declare his candidacy was mayoral candidate Joseph Violaris, who said his candidacy was a “symbol of struggle”.

He was accompanied by Diko leader Nicholas Papadopoulos to submit his candidacy, and said his candidacy is a “symbol of the struggle for liberation from the occupying army and the settlers, and our return to our homes and our properties with all human rights guaranteed”.

He added that those rights should be guaranteed “just as they are guaranteed in the European Union, and just as every European citizen has the right to move and enjoy his own property throughout Europe.”

He went on to say that the Kyrenia municipality “is not a municipality which will deal with cleanliness, footpaths, and permits.

“It is a municipality which is purely concerned with shedding light on this issue so we can return to our beloved town.”

He is supported by Diko, Disy and Akel.

Later in the morning, Odysseas Patsalides submitted his candidacy for the town’s mayoralty, saying the people of Kyrenia “must bring back the slogan ‘I do not forget’”.

He added that he has “almost all of Kyrenia with me”, and that people will support him as he is a “genuine Kyrenian”.

“Local elections are not for political parties,” he said.