Candidates concerned over higher rents facing undergraduates

Parties and candidates on Monday continued their activities, ahead of the February 2023 presidential elections, with issues such as digital transformation, labor relations, the Cyprus problem and benefits for undergraduate students who face difficulties renting student halls, topping the agenda.

Averof Neofytou, the president of the ruling Democratic Rally’s candidate for the presidency, who visited the Karaiskakio foundation, highlighted the importance of providing specialized services by the state. He stated that by purchasing services and supporting such specialized institutions the state can fulfill its role and also provide the highest quality services to the citizens who need them at a much lower cost. "This is a model that we need to apply more widely," he said.

Furthermore, Neofytou welcomed the Cyprus University of Technology’s unanimous decision to approve a support framework for undergraduate students, which includes an increase in rent allowance as well as cooperation with the Cyprus Hoteliers Association to secure rooms in Limassol hotels for students at a lower price.

On his part, Mavroyianis, an independent candidate supported by left-wing AKEL, met with representatives of the Association of Officers of the Cyprus Army, with whom he discussed issues associated with innovation, modernization and intelligent defense, as well as issues related to the morale of the officers and executives of the National Guard.

He also addressed the trade Union, PEO's General Council. In his address he criticized the deregulation of labor, stating that the state cannot act as a bystander but must intervene with regulations and rules that would create conditions of social balance, labor security and dignity. Mavroyiannis welcomed PEO’s General Council's decision to endorse his candidacy.

Independent candidate, Nicos Christodoulides outlined his set of proposals over Digital Transformation, including the setup of An Advisory Body with the participation of the Deputy Ministry for Digital Policy and the private sector which would draft a national transformation strategy.

Christodoulides also called for the reduction of the digital gap through the provision of support to all age groups of the population, based on economic criteria for the purchase of a personal computer, internet connections, as well as courses for acquiring digital skills.

His campaign office also issued a statement on the death of little Lambros Kallenos, who was suffering from a very rare disease and was being treated at a medical center in Israel.

"We will never forget Lambro's smile and will always fondly remember the countless moments we shared. Words are poor when describing moments like this", the press statement said.

Achilleas Demetriades’ campaign office issued a press release stating that he will hold a press conference on September 28 for the presentation of Pillar I of his Pre-Election Program, which concerns the establishment of an "Honest State".

Achilleas Dimitriades will outline his proposals concerning the rules of transparency and combating the conflict of interest, the independence of the institutions and the way of appointing independent officials, the abolition of unreasonable privileges and the speedy delivery of justice, the announcement states.

The candidate for the President of the Republic, Marios Eliades, issued a press release on the effort of the four independent candidates for cooperation and joint support. He states that "our effort is neither heading to a wreck, nor it is facing problems regarding the choice of the common candidate because simply, the specific issue has not yet concerned us".

He adds that "our project receives wider support from parties that have not yet reached decisions, and from wider organized groups of society, but also from personalities, who worry about the course and prospects of Cyprus".

The candidate for the Presidency of the Republic, Yiorgos Kolokasides, in his announcement about the President's speech to the UN General Assembly, stated that the President “had to spend nine and a half years in the Presidency of the Republic of Cyprus to realize and denounce to the General Assembly of UN that Turkey "refuses to implement numerous United Nations resolutions on the Cyprus problem".

Unfortunately, he said, in the case of the President of the Republic, the saying "better late than never" does not apply because Turkey has never changed its goal of sovereignty in the north and co-dominion in the south either through the racist Bicommunal Bizonal Federation or through the two-state solution that now evangelized.

Besides, Kolokasides in a press release, stated that whatever is noted internationally for the victory of the conservative alliance in the Italian parliamentary elections of September 25, an important message was sent to Brussels and the European capitals of the north: the European Union itself will either change or sink.