Eleven members of Dromolaxia-Meneou’s municipal council have called for mayor Kypros Andronikou to reevaluate his stance after an incident on November 18, when a verbal confrontation erupted between the mayor and a council member over shelters for unaccompanied minors to be built on land in Kiti belonging to the Land Development Organisation.

In a written statement, Andronikou said the 11 members were obstructing the smooth functioning of the municipality to the detriment of the public and that they had been doing so “from the day the new municipality was established.”

In a letter, the 11 members inform the mayor and the council that they would not attend the continuation of the meeting, which had been rescheduled for November 20, due to the mayor’s “unacceptable behaviour”, which “culminated on that day [November 18] against Mr Damianos Mina”.

Panayiotis Hadjipanayiotou, the lawyer who is representing 11 of the 21 members, sent the letter to the mayor and the council, as well as the press.

“We believe that time and contemplation are necessary for all to fully understand the magnitude of the actions and behaviour of mayor Kypros Andronikou, which in no case should be repeated,” they added.

Andronikou said they had formed an “unholy and motley alliance” and were doing as they liked, in cases disregarding Law Office decisions.

In one case, he said, the eleven members of the council had blocked the participation of Akel candidates in the school board and “for this illegal administrative act there has been an opinion issued by the Law Office, which they completely disregarded and continue to act outside the law.”

Andronikou said they had excluded Akel representatives from all municipal committees and wondered which “cooperation” they were referring to in their letter.

Andronikou and Mina had reported each other to the police for “arguing and swearing”.

Kiti police are investigating. Once the case is complete, it will be sent to the Legal Services for further instructions.