Recent developments involving the mayors of Paphos and Lefkoniko have highlighted an important issue regarding the application of similar regulations or decisions to other elected officials.
Phedonas Phedonos and Pieris Gypsiotis were officially placed on suspension as of yesterday, following the publication of the decision of the Minister of the Interior in the Official Gazette of the Republic. Two separate cases are being investigated against the former: one concerns an alleged assault against his wife, who has not filed any complaint, and the second concerns an alleged rape, for which the police already have a complaint from the alleged victim. The latter is already an accused person in a case of domestic violence, while a second case of a similar nature is also under investigation against him.
Consequently, one is a suspect in two cases, while the other is an accused person in the first case and a suspect in the second. On the basis of these facts, Article 113 of the 2022 Municipalities Law was activated. This article provides that a mayor, deputy mayor or councillor against whom a criminal offence is being investigated by the prosecuting authorities, as specified in paragraph (d) of subsection (1) of Article 18, or an offence classified as a felony under the provisions of the Criminal Code or any other law carrying, upon conviction, a prison sentence of three years or more, is automatically placed on suspension from the date of publication of the relevant notification by the minister.
Inevitably, the question arises as to why similar legislative provisions do not also cover other elected officials, such as members of parliament. This comparison inevitably leads to the case of DISY MP Nikos Syka. The facts of the Syka case resemble those of the Phedonos case, as he was reported for alleged offences of assault, violence and psychological abuse against his partner. However, Mr Syka continues to exercise his parliamentary duties normally, while the other has been placed on suspension. Moreover, following a decision of the Supreme Court, and with the consent of Mr Syka himself, his parliamentary immunity has been lifted.
The crucial difference compared with the case of Phedonas Phedonos is that there is no provision in any law obliging Nikos Syka, or any member of parliament whose immunity has been lifted for the possible commission of serious offences, to refrain from exercising their duties until the completion of the criminal investigation against them.
These observations create conditions of double standards among elected officials. It is therefore reasonably and strongly argued that, if a sense of justice is to prevail, the same legislative arrangements must apply to all.