The Minister of Interior Mr. Nikos Nouris made today the following statement on the issue concerning the holding of a referendum in relation to the promoted Local Government reform in Cyprus:
"As it is well known, the Reform Bills for the Local Self-Government have been discussed for years at the level of the Parliament, but also with the social partners. In recent months, we have discussed extensively in the Parliamentary Committee on Home Affairs the "Law on Municipalities of 2020".
At its last meeting, the Committee decided, following the majority of its members, to include in the text of the Bill, inter alia, a provision according to which a referendum is to be called at a local level, after the passage of this bill into law.
The Ministry of Interior filed its disagreement with this provision and on February 1, 2021, I sent a letter to the Attorney General of the Republic, asking for the opinion on the constitutionality of this provision, but also the functionality of the Law from a legal point of view. .
The Attorney General of the Republic, in his reply letter, informed me, among other things, that it is not possible to hold referendums after the passage of this bill in law, because such a thing would call into question the application of all the provisions of the passed Law. .
He also notes that, although the Constitution of the Republic of Cyprus does not provide for any possibility of holding a referendum, nevertheless such a thing is provided in the Law on Referendums of 1989 (Law 206/1989).
In view of the above and respecting the position of the majority of parliamentary parties in favor of holding a referendum on local government reform, I intend to propose to the Council of Ministers at its session tomorrow, as it decides to send a proposal to the House of Representatives. paragraph (1) of Article 3 of the Law on Referendums of 1989, which proposes the holding of a Pancyprian referendum on the reform of Local Government, at the same time as the elections for the members of the House of Representatives, which will be held on May 30, 2021.
For this intention, I have already sent a letter to the Speaker of the Parliament and the leaders of the Parliamentary parties, while in addition to the letter, I have also informed today the President of the Parliamentary Committee of the Interior by telephone ".
Asked if the government can decide on its own regarding the holding of a referendum, he said that the Law on Referendums "Stipulates that the Council of Ministers decides on the issue of holding a referendum, but this proposal must be approved by the House of Representatives."
To another relevant question, the Minister answered that “the essence of the Advocate General's opinion lies in the fact that you can not present before the people a law that has been passed. What the people should be asked, and what they have been advocating for, is that, respecting the position of the parliamentary parties, we suggest, always adopting the opinion of the Attorney General of the Republic, that the sovereign people may be questioned during the Parliamentary elections, so that there is an economy, but also attendance in terms of participation, if he wants the reform to proceed. The provisions of the law are very clear. The answers should be in the affirmative or negative - it is defined by the relevant article of the law. The question will obviously be raised whether the House of Representatives will adopt the position of the Government, but we believe that in this way, on the one hand, while respecting the views of the parliamentary parties, we make it possible, after so many debates, to have his point of view. sovereign people ”.
Famagusta.News