The election of deputy mayor Aglandjia was the farce everyone expected. It is no wonder that it recorded what is probably the lowest ever turnout for any election at 27.73 per cent. In numbers, of the 15,182 registered voters, only 4,210 showed up to vote, and the newly-elected deputy mayor, Andri Hadjiandreou took 2,309 votes (55.49 per cent); the candidate of Disy, Diko and Elam, Prokopis Prokopiou took 1,852 votes.

Hadjiandreou had been backed by Akel, Alma, Edek, Dipa, the Ecologists and the Green Party, although her main backer was Akel, which saw her election as a victory for the residents of Aglandjia, “who embraced the progressive vision and positions of the new deputy mayor.” This is complete nonsense and Akel knows it, but it could not resist the temptation of presenting the win as a major triumph of the ‘progressive’ front.

For which residents of Aglandjia was this a victory? For the 15 per cent of registered voters who cast a vote for Hadjiandreou? What type of victory was this for the remaining 85 per cent, the majority of whom did not bother to vote? Admittedly, this was just empty political rhetoric by Akel, when it started talking about “progressive visions and positions” it was clearly misleading the public.

As a deputy mayor, Hadjiandreou has no power and is therefore in no position to pursue the progressive vision the residents of Aglandjia embraced. Since the reform of local government two years ago, Aglandjia is part of Nicosia municipality and therefore under the authority of the Nicosia mayor and municipal council. A deputy mayor has no authority, while any official duties and responsibility are assigned by the mayor.

It is a farce, when the taxpayer picks up a hefty bill, in the region of a million euro, for the election of an official with a title and no authority. The overwhelming majority of Aglandjia residents – 72.3 per cent – refused to be part of this farce and did not show up to vote. In effect, they would be voting for the person they would like to collect a big salary for doing nothing, because the political parties felt obliged to create well-paid public jobs for their members when carrying out the reform of local government.

The costly by-election, which is stipulated by the law, was held because Disy deputy mayor Andreas Constantinou was elected to parliament in May, therefore vacating the post. Surely it would have been much more economical if Constantinou was replaced by an acting deputy mayor until the next municipal elections in 2029. It is not as if an elected deputy mayor of Aglandjia has any role to play in local government.