Most citizens want the Municipal elections to be held, rejecting the Government's proposal, as three out of five Cypriots estimate that the Parliament will not approve the proposal of the Council of Ministers to postpone the Municipal Elections, while 57% do not seem to believe that the reform really will be completed within 2,5 years
69% of Cypriots disagree with the proposal to postpone the Municipal Elections and extend the term of the existing local authorities, according to a survey conducted by IMR / University of Nicosia and presented today by "Simerini".
The citizens do not seem to be positive about the time chosen by the Government to forward its proposal to the Parliament, from which they expect that they will reject it three out of five. At the same time, the Cypriots express doubts about whether the Local Government reform will be completed within 2,5 years and reject the position that it should be done by the old Mayors, who know things better.
Quite important
The Cypriots, in general, seem to attach importance both to the Municipal Elections and to the role of the Mayor and the Municipal Councils. Of the three institutions, the citizens seem to judge the most important one of the Mayor, as 36% characterize him as very important and 43% as quite important. The Municipal Elections are considered very important by 30% of the citizens and the Municipal Councils by 27%.
Interest and information
The interest in the Municipal Elections, just a few weeks before they take place, is not very high, as only 15% of Cypriots say that they are very interested. Three out of ten are interested enough and a quarter are interested a little. 27% express zero interest in the upcoming election process.
The range of interest is also reflected in the degree of information of the citizens about the Local Government elections, as only 10% state that they are highly informed. Three out of five Cypriots are kept informed to a small or considerable degree, while 29% are not informed at all.
They know it
What the vast majority say they are aware of is the proposal of the Council of Ministers to postpone the Municipal Elections, until the reform of the Local Government is completed. 75% of Cypriots say they are aware of this fact.
They disagree with the proposal
Seven out of ten Cypriots disagree with the proposal to postpone the elections and extend the term of the existing local mayors, while only 31% say they agree. At the same time, they face with a negative lens the moment when the proposal was submitted by the executive, at a rate of 69%.
The "big ones" and the Cyprus issue
As for the motives behind the proposal to postpone the elections, in addition to the official position, 66% of citizens believe that this move was made to serve the interests of the major parties, a view which is not shared by 34%.
The picture is different when the Cyprus issue is included in the equation, as the Cypriots appear divided. 50% estimate that the Government's proposal is related to the developments in the Cyprus issue and 49% do not foresee such an interconnection.
They do not see it
Three out of five citizens estimate that the Parliament will not approve the proposal of the Council of Ministers for the postponement of the Municipal Elections. 36% expect the legislature to give the green light, while 3% do not.
To leave
65% of Cypriots disagree with the position that the old Mayors should remain in place to manage the unification of the Municipalities, as they know things better. 33% have the opposite opinion and 2% were not asked this question.
Source: TODAY