President taken to task for vetoing ‘social justice’ bills

Parliament may need to reconvene in order to discuss and decide on the vetoing of two bills by President Nicos Anastasiades, even though it has dissolved ahead of the May 22 legislative elections, according to House speaker Yiannakis Omirou.

On Wednesday, Anastasiades vetoed two bills voted by the House, among some 60 pieces of legislation passed in the marathon session of April 14, the body’s final plenary session before the upcoming elections.

The two bills allow for the payment of social insurance dues in 60 instalments and more stringent rules on laying off workers on long-term sick leave.

In addition to the vetoes, which leave parliament with the options of amending, withdrawing, or insisting on the bills, Anastasiades is poised to refer 16 more bills voted during the April 14 session to the Supreme Court on grounds of unconstitutionality.

Following parliament’s last session, Attorney-general Costas Clerides criticised MPs for being sloppy and irresponsible, passing “blatantly unconstitutional” items.

Such items included a bill allowing the offsetting of bank-bond backed loans with bank bonds, and another for the participation of bailed-in depositors on the Bank of Cyprus’ board of directors.

The House speaker may call an extraordinary plenary session to decide on the fate of the two vetoed bills, or leave the decision up to the next parliament. The key criterion, according to parliamentary sources, is whether the bills are deemed significant enough to merit an extraordinary plenum.

The vetoes sparked the reaction of opposition parties, with AKEL spokesman Yiorgos Loukaides arguing that they were indicative of the government’s social insensitivity.

“President Anastasiades has shown a particular zeal in cancelling laws passed by the House, either by vetoing or referring them to the Supreme Court, as is his right,” Loukaides said.

“But we note that these laws seek to serve social causes or ease the burden on large masses of the public that have suffered injustices. We have seen no respective zeal from the president for laws that have served banks and other powerful interests.”

Also acknowledging Anastasiades’ right to veto laws, DIKO leader Nicolas Papadopoulos said striking them down is not enough – it needs to be coupled with alternative proposals.

“What we note is that there is strong reaction by the government toward bills passed by parliament, with objections mostly boiling down to political reasons,” Papadopoulos said.

“For instance, we believe that haircut depositors should be represented on the boards of banks they have helped survive. What does the government believe? They should stop hiding behind legal terms. They should tell us what they want, what their political position is.”