Filenews 1 June 2024 - by Despina Psillou
Chaos in post boxes and courtyards of houses, in the gates and corridors of apartment buildings and on the windshields of cars from the leaflets of the candidates for the June 9 elections. The thousands running in the race seem to be taking advantage of a loophole in the law in relation to door-to-door print advertising.
The regulation of this issue was put to Parliament at least in 2011 through a proposal for a law, signed by the then MPs George Perdikis and Adamos Adamou, but remained on paper and was not converted into law. In fact, Mr Adamou, in his capacity as chairman of the Committee on the Environment at the time, said that a correction had been pending since 2003, that is, for 21 years.
During an investigation by "F" on the problem of uncontrolled distribution of advertising leaflets, it was found that there is no competent body to supervise or manage the issue and that the ball of responsibility has changed hands many times.
As the president of the Green Movement, George Perdikis, told us, initially the proposal for a law on advertising leaflets provided for them to be banned completely. "But after discussion in the parliamentary environment committee, the ban was turned into regulation. That is, specific companies producing and distributing leaflets would be licensed under strict conditions." At the same time, companies would have to respect citizens who procured and put on their post box a signal that they did not wish to receive leaflets. Unfortunately, he pointed out, the signal was not wanted to be taken over by the various agencies. "We started with the Department of Commerce, they didn't accept authority. We continued in the municipalities, they didn't want to get involved."
Violators, Perdikis told us, were initially supposed to face criminal charges, but this too was changed to a fine. In addition, the advertiser was permanently removed from being liable, as he should have examined whether he contacted a licensed company. "There were a lot of reactions from trade unions, from an Association of Distributors of Advertising Material that was created at the time. Only society responded positively."
Mr. Perdikis stressed that advertising leaflets, apart from being a nuisance, as they fill people's post boxes, "are a terrible waste of resources" and cause pollution to the environment. He referred to the case of a citizen who collected leaflets corresponding to 20 kg of paper in one year. At the same time, he said, in many cases damage is done due to the abundance and size of leaflets, since post boxes do not close properly, resulting in the destruction of other, important documents.
For his part, the director of Cyprus Post, Sofronis Tsiartas, told us that for some years the Commissioner of Electronic Communications and Postal Regulation was responsible for advertising brochures. However, they ceased to be under his responsibility, as they are not a postal product as long as they do not have a postal address, stamp, etc. "This market has remained unregulated," he noted, adding that Cyprus Post is no longer involved in the distribution of leaflets, with the sole exception of the post office boxes under rent located in their offices and if their holder allows it. "We have ended the distribution of flyers as they create many problems such as waste of paper, environmental pollution and much more," he said.
The Registrar of Elections, Menelaos Vassiliou, noted that there is no provision in the electoral law in relation to candidates' election leaflets, which are treated as one more through advertising. "All that is stated is that any advertising, paid or not, on the eve and day of the election is prohibited," he said. "We have a team from the Press and Information Office checking social media in those days and preparing a report. In the previous Presidential Election we sent several cases to the Attorney General."
In addition, he said, district crews are checking streets and neighbourhoods for any advertisements. Offenders are guilty of a criminal offence and in cases of conviction are subject to imprisonment not exceeding one year and/or a fine of up to €5,000.
However, on behalf of the Ministry of the Interior, we have been told how difficult it is to check what leaflets are in the post boxes of homes on the eve and on election day.
The Commissioner for Personal Data Protection, Irene Loizidou Nikolaidou, reminded "F" of the right to object. However, he said, there is no personal data issue as no personal data is listed in the brochures.
