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.