Disy and Elam on Wednesday announced separate legislative proposals aimed at reversing the government’s decision to remove the ‘father’s name’ and ‘mother’s name’ fields from Cyprus identity cards.

Disy said it disagrees with the government’s decision but argued that citizens should have the right to choose whether the names of their parents appear on their identity cards.

“The position of Disy has been and remains the same: every citizen should have the free choice as to whether they wish to remove these details from their identity card,” the party said.

It added that it has prepared a bill to be tabled before the House of Representatives to give citizens that option.

Elam, meanwhile, said it would submit its own bill to make the inclusion of the names of both parents mandatory once again.

The party described the government’s decision as “another absurdity” imposed in the name of what it called “a non-existent progressivism”, adding that it would not back down on the issue.

Elam said the proposal seeks to restore the father’s and mother’s names as compulsory fields on identity cards, arguing that the move is necessary to protect “the family and our values”.

The party also called on other political parties to make their positions clear, saying each would now be judged by its actions in parliament.

The interior ministry on Tuesday said it had no intention to reverse a recent change where new ID cards issued from July onwards will no longer feature the names of the bearer’s parents.

It said that displaying an ID card is done to verify the identity of the holder alone, not their parents. Moreover, any information regarding the parents will be maintained on other relevant documents – like the birth certificate.

The move followed recommendations from the children’s rights commissioner.