Cyprus News Agency: News in English, 11-12-18

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From: The Cyprus News Agency at <http://www.cyna.org.cy>

CONTENTS

[01] Polls open for municipal elections

[02] President: Government promotes autonomy of local administration

[03] Finance Minister: Government takes measures

[04] FM to meet US Secretary of State in Washington

[01] Polls open for municipal elections

Polling stations will open at 0700 local time (0500 GMT) and close at 1800. There will be a break between 1200 and 1300.

A total of 546,111 persons are entitled to vote in Sundays elections, among them 12,333 who are citizens of other EU member states. The majority of EU citizens are from Greece and the UK.

One thousand four hundred and one polling stations are set up throughout the southern government controlled areas of the Republic (the islands northern part is under Turkish occupation since the 1974 Turkish invasion).

One polling station will be set up at the Central Prison.

The enclaved -Greek Cypriots still living in the northern Turkish occupied areas- will vote at three polling stations.

Voters will choose a mayor as well as members of the town councils.

There are a total of 39 municipalities all over the Republic of Cyprus, nine of them are occupied. In some of the municipalities no elections are going to be held as there is only one candidate in each of them.

Votes will be counted at the regional electoral centers and those who secure election as mayors are expected to be announced by 2200 on Sunday.

A total of 9,000 employees from the civil service as well as police officers will be working on Sunday in order to ensure that the whole process will run smoothly.

Municipal elections take place every five years in December.

The first elections held in Cyprus following the islands accession to the EU took place in 2006. That was the first time other EU nationals secured the right to vote in the Republic in accordance with EU law.

[02] President: Government promotes autonomy of local administration

Speaking after casting his vote, President Christofias also referred to the local authorities in the Turkish occupied areas of Cyprus, noting that the Government insists that they be elected because it insists on the reunification of the island and its people.

``The continuation of the functioning of the local administration of the occupied areas is evidence of our determination to work so that we return and reform and rebuild our towns and villages, along with our Turkish Cypriot compatriots,`` he said.

President Christofias noted that ``the local administration is the authority of decentralisation, the authority of direct democracy, and of course it has the duty to successfully address the daily problems of the citizens.``

[03] Finance Minister: Government takes measures

In a statement issued Friday following Fitch Ratings report placing Cyprus`s BBB sovereign credit grade on negative outlook along with five other countries, namely Belgium, Spain, Slovenia, Italy and Ireland, the Ministry notes that on 14 December 2011, the House of Representatives passed all fiscal consolidation measures submitted by the Government.

These decisive measures, it adds, are expected to help reduce sharply the budget deficit as a percentage of the GDP, overshooting the original objectives.

The statement also announces that the House passed yesterday the 2012 state budget.

``Although the budget as submitted by the Government is the most tight budget over the past 35 years, the House adopted amendments to further cut costs, reducing the budget deficit for 2012 even more, it points out.

Therefore, it continues, financing needs for 2012 will be limited.

[04] FM to meet US Secretary of State in Washington

Later on the same day, Markoullis will address the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars think tank on«Cyprus in the Eastern Mediterranean:Strategic location, strategic opportunities.»

On Wednesday, Markoullis will address the European Institute to talk about «Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean: A Cypriot Perspective».

In the afternoon, she will brief journalists, at the National Press Club, on the latest developments in the Cyprus issue, Cyprus` presidency of the Council of the EU in the second half of 2012, as well as on prospects as regards exploration and exploitation of hydrocarbon reserves in the Republics Exclusive Economic Zone.

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