UPDATE 11 June 2024

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11 JUNE 2024

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ELECTION RESULTS, 9 JUNE 2024

- Marinos Lambrou re-elected as the new Mayor of the Municipality of Akamas, with 74.1% of the votes.

- Andreas Christodoulou elected Pegeia Deputy Mayor 

- 5 Pegeia Councillors:

Stefanos Chrysostomou, Savvas Theodosiou, Stelios Konnikos, Omeros Psaltas and Savvas Zacheria

Here is a quick Deepl translation of Marinos's FB post of today:

"11 June 2024

Dear fellow citizens,

It is with great honour and emotion that I accept the trust you have shown me by electing me Mayor of the newly established Municipality of Akamas. I wholeheartedly thank each and every one of you for your support and loyalty. Your vote is the strongest proof of your confidence in our proposals and vision for the future of our Municipality.

I promise to work tirelessly and with dedication for the good of the Municipality of Akamas. The prospect of growth and prosperity of our region is my main priority. With collective effort and cooperation, we can achieve great things for our community.

I pledge to always be there for you, listening to your concerns and suggestions, and working with transparency and accountability. Together, we will promote growth and improve the quality of life for all of us.

Thank you again for your trust and I look forward to working with all of you for a better tomorrow.

Yours sincerely,

Marinos Lambrou

Newly elected Mayor of the newly established Municipality of Akamas"

We have posted public congratulations to the successful candidates on our social media FB page and this  website. We plan to continue to post occasional updates and we hope also to continue good relations and communications with Mayor Marinos.

Lastly, a huge thank you to all of you who took time to send me messages of thanks.  I deeply appreciate it and I would like also to tell you that Coalition supporters were what always kept me going over the years.  As I close this chapter on my foray into local politics, I continue my other projects that I am engaged with and I feel enthusiastic about new ventures on the horizon.   

All the best,

Linda

Pegeia Councillor (until 1 July 2024)

Contact us by email: [info@pegeiacoalition.org](info@pegeiacoalition.org) 

[www.pegeiacoalition.org](http://www.pegeiacoalition.org)

Update of recent Coalition zoom meeting, 20 Feb. 2024, with 25 participants:
Roads:
- Michaelaki Kyprianou road in central area of Pegeia is nearing completion. Next phase of roadworks will be to the Coral Bay roundabout, which will be greatly enlarged.
- Renewal of Coral Bay tourist “strip” is proceeding well, expected to be completed first week of May. The road will be slightly higher than previous level, with a slope to center for drainage, two-way traffic, no sidewalks but with bollards to limit parking. Illegalities are being demolished.
- Coastal pathway Phase 1 from Potima is open as completion is almost finished. There is a new amphitheatre, wide coastal paths, an outdoor athletic area, picnic tables, planting of shrubs, trees.
- As for viewing the plans of all the major road projects, I recently requested, again, that the Municipality create a place at the Town Hall where

details and maps can be easily seen.
Planning:
- Leptos continues to apply for planning permits for highrise buildings on the seaside. He is up to 4 now (9, 8, 7 and 6 floors), plus an extra floor on his existing Coral Beach Hotel. Majority of Council against highrises, but these applications go through Nicosia under “incentives for developers” process. Leptos also wants to build a 6-floor hotel on Coral Bay beach, also through special Nicosia relaxations so as to avoid the existing planning regulations. Again, majority of Council opposed.
- Akamas: controversial extensive roadworks in proposed National Park under investigation in Cyprus and EU Parliaments.
- Cemetery expansion planned as worldwide excess deaths comes to Pegeia too. Cemetery is filling up quickly, with an overall + 40% increase in burials in 2023. Last year, the Council approved expropriation of adjacent land by the ex-pat cemetery, which is expected to be available soon.
Elections:
- Next local election is on 9 June, to coincide with creation of new local authorities. Pegeia will undergo massive changes, with our town as HQs of the new town, Akamas Paphos. Surrounding villages are to be amalgamated into one town (Pegeia, Kissonerga, Akoursos, Kathikas, Pano & Kato Arodes, Ineia). This election changes dramatically the old Pegeia Council. The new council will have 16 councillors (not 8 as current one), with only 5 to be elected from Pegeia. Each village "department" will have elected councillors, plus there will be 7 Deputy Mayors and 1 Mayor. Mayor Marinos is standing for re-election.
- I am not standing for re-election, for many reasons, but one is that I have now served for over 17 years (the last 2 of which were unanticipated due to the postponement of the election that should have been held in Dec. 2021). Unfortunately, we have failed to find possible Coalition candidates to stand for Council but we hope we might be able to continue some of our work in providing information to the public about Pegeia Council issues.
- The new local governance system is complicated and likely to be chaotic. It is also rigged to consolidate big political party power and make it even more difficult for independents or small parties to be elected. Although the main purpose of the revision was to save money, this new system is going to cost more, with all the new positions of deputy mayors and creation of a completely new level of administration at the district levels. The responsible Parliamentary committee is even now still discussing problems and possible revisions.
- For voting, nationals of EU Member States who have their Cyprus immigration resident papers have the right to vote in the local election (and also for the European Parliament which will be held at the same time).

Deadline to register to vote in this election is 2 April.

Please spread voter registration information to any EU nationals you know, as most are unlikely to be aware of their right to vote.

The simple application forms and a 1-page info sheet can be downloaded on this site in the Voting section. 

If someone is already registered, and has their voting book, there is no need to do anything further except to vote on Sunday, 9 June. Closer to the election, we will provide useful info on how the voting works and have sample ballots to share.

The Mayor joined the meeting late, with apologies, and answered some questions, including about swimming pool permits in complexes: new legislation is planned but not ready yet. Mayor explained problems occur with tourist rentals. He sought to reassure people that he would not be taking action against regular owners in complexes where properties are not rented via online tourist booking agents.
There was a discussion about post-Brexit loss of local voting rights for UK nationals. The Mayor encouraged people to consider applying for Cypriot citizenship. I am a member of a non-profit association lobbying the Cyprus government and others about voting in local elections for third country nationals. The UK High Commission has informed us that they are unable to assist and that the issue concerns the Cyprus constitution. We plan to continue our lobbying on rights on behalf of foreign legal residents.

We may have another zoom meeting end of March, early April, or possibly a public in-person meeting at the old Co-op conference room if renovatioins by Pegeia Municipality are completed. We will let you know.

In closing, I would like express my gratitude for the thanks I received from our supporters at the meeting.
All the best,
Linda
Pegeia Councillor