Cyprus’ House of Representatives' Plenum has passed a legislative proposal introducing the right of citizens to submit legislative initiatives to Parliament, as well as a government bill regulating the submission of citizen initiatives to the executive branch.
The legislative proposal was tabled by DIKO MP Christiana Erotokritou on behalf of her party’s parliamentary group. It was approved by 36 votes in favour and one against, while the bill was passed by 35 votes in favour.
Under the legislative proposal, citizens will be able to submit proposals to Parliament on matters of public interest and public benefit, calling on lawmakers to examine and, if they choose, debate and/or vote on relevant legislation. Parliament, however, will not be bound to act on such proposals.
The proposal sets 5,000 signatures as the minimum threshold for a citizens’ legislative initiative to be considered validly submitted.
The bill regulates a separate process allowing citizens to submit proposals to the executive branch. It provides for the establishment of a Citizens’ Initiative Review Committee, which will examine whether such proposals may be published.
If a proposal is approved for publication and gathers the required number of support statements, it will formally call on the government to consider action on its implementation.
The bill also provides for administrative fines to be imposed by the Permanent Secretary of the Interior Ministry if, following a complaint, an organiser is found to have misled citizens through false or fraudulent information in order to obtain support, submitted a support statement using a citizen’s personal details without consent, and/or used violence or threats of violence to force a citizen to support an initiative.
(Source: CNA)
