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  • Elections In Cyprus

    ELECTIONS IN CYPRUS
    By George Der Parthogh

    AZG Armenian Daily
    24/05/2006

    AKEL and Democratic Party Lead

    NICOSIA, MONDAY - Nicosia businessman Vartkes Mahdessian is the new
    Armenian Representative in the Cyprus Parliament for the next four
    years. Mahdessian, 55, clinched 52.6 percent of the votes while his
    opponent Dr Vahakn N. Atamyan secured 47.395 percent of the votes
    cast by the 3,000 strong Armenian community of Cyprus.

    Under the terms of the constitution of the Cyprus Republic, the
    Armenians, Maronites and Latins, officially termed as religious
    groupings, elect their own representatives who deal with only
    educational and religious matters, but are usually members of
    parliamentary sub-committees. They have no vote on other matters
    in parliament.

    The Cypriot Armenian community has three elementary schools - in
    Nicosia, Larnaca and Limassol, which come under an overall committee
    appointed by the elected representative. These schools are entirely
    financed by the Cyprus Ministry of Education and Culture and children
    of Cypriot Armenians attend free of charge.

    Non-Cypriot Armenians pay a small annual fee.

    Mahdessian was the candidate of the Dashnak party while Atamyan was
    supported by the Ramgavars, Hentchaks, the AGBU clubs and the small
    Shahumian grouping attached to the Cyprus communist party.

    When former representative Bedros Kalaydjian died in September last
    year, Dr Atamyan won interim elections against another local Dashnak
    leader Dr. Antranig Ashdjian.

    Then, just as in the present case, one of the main topics during the
    electioneering campaign was the unilateral decision of the AGBU Board
    to close down the Melkonian Educational Institute, which created a
    serious breach in the non-dashnak camp.

    Meanwhile, in the Cypriot parliamentary elections, which were also
    held on Sunday, Marios Karoyian (Armenian From his father's side and
    Greek from his mother's) became the first Armenian to become a full
    member of the House of Representatives (parlia^_ment).

    In a brief statement during celebrations at Mahdessian's election
    he said: "Now we will have two Armenian voices in the Cypriot
    legislative". Ha was elected on the ticket of "Dimocratiko Komma"
    (Democratic Party) founded by former Cypriot President, the late Spyros
    Kyprianou and currently led by President Tassos Papadopoulos. For the
    past three years, Karoyian was the Director of President Papadopoulos'
    Political Office and often acted as government spokesman.

    In the parliamentary elections, the Cyprus Communist Party AKEL
    secured 31.13 percent of the cast votes, very closely followed by
    the Democratic Rally (right wing) with 30.34 percent, while President
    Papadapoulos' Democratic Party could only muster 17.91 of the votes,
    and the local socialist party EDEK clinched 8.92 percent. Ecologists
    and Environmentalists collected 1.95 percent.

    Highlights of Mahdessian's manifesto include improvement of the
    living conditions and problems of compatriots from Armenia and other
    countries, get more Armenians to serve on government boards, secure
    additional funds from European Union programs for the needs of the
    community. He also promises to be "the impartial representa^_tive of
    all members of our community, because we can only achieve our goals
    through cooperation."

    Mahdessian pledged full support to the Armenian Patriarch of
    Constantinople in the fight against the closure of the Melkonian,
    as well as the Melkonian Alumni Association's efforts to find a
    solution to the problem of the Melkonian, the only Armenian boarding
    high school in the Diaspora.
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