The Plenary Session of the Parliament gave the green light to the first part of the reform of the Audit Office, which concerns the determination of the term limit, but also the qualifications of the Auditor General.
It is noted that the amendment to the Constitution that was passed today was submitted to the Parliament by the Ministry of Justice and Public Order together with the bill entitled "The Audit Office of the Republic and on Related Matters Law of 2025", the purpose of which is the reform of the Audit Office of the Republic. In particular, among other things, the bill in question provides for the establishment of an Audit Board, which will have the authority to submit to the Auditor General recommendations or draft measures for approval for the implementation of the annual program and the policy of the Audit Office of the Republic, to monitor the implementation of the annual program of the Audit Office of the Republic for the purpose of submitting relevant recommendations, submission of recommendations to the Auditor General for the preparation of interim reports and examination of the preliminary draft interim report or the draft annual report of the Auditor General and for the formulation of recommendations on them.
However, because in the context of the discussion there was strong disagreement from the bodies involved, i.e. the Auditor General, the Assistant Auditor General and ICPAC, the Legal Committee, with the agreement of the Minister of Justice and Public Order, decided that the whole issue should remain pending. That is why in today's plenary session, only the part concerning the amendment of the Constitution was put to a vote, in order to give the necessary time for further review of the issue.
What the Parliament voted for
The President of the Legal Committee and DISY MP, Nikos Tornaritis, stated that "the Committee expects suggestions on the multifaceted nature of the Audit Office from the Auditor General, as well as from the International Relations Services of the Parliament which will submit us a thorough study on what applies in the other EU member states".
As he explained, the Parliamentary Committee on Legal Affairs, Justice and Public Order, after taking into account everything that was put before it and in particular the established relevance of the bill under consideration and the law proposals, considered it appropriate to proceed with the consolidation of these texts into one text.
In light of the above, the consolidated text of the draft laws provides for the following:
1. Determination of the highest level of ethics and recognized scientific training or experience in the financial, accounting, auditing or other relevant field as qualifications for appointment to the position of Auditor General and Assistant Auditor General;
2. the fixing of an eight-year term of office in these offices without the right of reappointment, unless they reach the age of sixty-eight before the end of the term of office, at which time they retire, and the deletion of the constitutional provision conferring on these officials the status of permanent civil servants of the Republic;
3. the determination of the service of the officials in question under conditions to be determined by the documents of their appointment;
4. establishment of the financial autonomy of the Audit Office of the Republic by drawing up the budget of the Service by the Auditor General, in accordance with the wider financial conditions and in compliance with the ceilings set by the executive power, which budget will constitute a separate part of the budget of the Republic and will be entered in its entirety in the budget of the Republic for the financial year to which it relates, and with the publication in the Official Gazette of the Republic;
5. immediate entry into force of the proposed regulations with a special provision for persons who hold the office of Auditor General and the Assistant Auditor General on the date of their entry into force that they will continue to hold their office under the same conditions of their appointment.
The positions of the parties
Mr. Tornaritis said that DISY votes in favour of the consolidated text but votes against AKEL's amendments because the specific regulations are unconstitutional.
DIPA MP, Alekos Tryfonidis, said that the Audit Office is the guardian of public money and transparency in public life. DIPA will vote in favor.
AKEL MP Andreas Pasiourtidis said that "what is being voted on today is not a reform of the Audit Office. What is being done and what is being done correctly is the determination of the eight-year term and the qualifications of the Auditor General are being modernized."
"I will call on the House to consider the conflict of interest that can exist for a sitting minister or MP if he is appointed under a particular government as an independent official who will control the Government that will appoint him. And I understand that DISY will vote against our amendments since as the first teachers they appointed two acting ministers as General and Assistant Attorney General, but this does not cease to be a black spot in the appointment of independent officials," he said.
As he explained, AKEL's amendments provide for the establishment of restrictions on the persons who can assume the offices of Auditor General and Assistant Auditor General, so that they have not served in the office of minister during the term of office of the President and Vice President of the Republic who will make their appointment and do not hold at the time of their appointment the status of MP or position in the highest organizational structure of a political party, The holder of which, based on the statute of this political party, directly influences the formation of policies or is directly involved in the exercise of political power.
He concluded by saying that AKEL votes in favour of the amendment of the Constitution.
MP Andreas Themistocleous said that he strongly disagrees with the establishment of an Audit Board. Will the Auditor be controlled by the Government that appointed him? This is what the junta did in Argentina, in Bolivia. "I will vote in favor of the amendment despite the disagreements with the wording in some places," he added.
In her own statement, Irini Charalambidou said that "we have suffered and we have not yet learned, as a result of which we see the complete lack of trust of citizens in the institutions". In relation to the constitutionality of AKEL's amendments, he noted that "we have heard many times opinions of the Legal Service – with a recent example being the asset declarations of the Prosecutor and his Assistant – which when they arrived before the Supreme Constitutional Court the position of the Prosecutor's Office was not accepted".
Marinos Sizopoulos said that EDEK agrees and votes in favour of the amendment of the Constitution. Panikos Leonidou said that DIKO considers that AKEL's amendments may have some elements of constitutionality, but these can be discussed at a later stage when the individual issues will be discussed. Therefore, he added, "we support the amendment of the Constitution without strengthening the Constitution with ambiguities that may cause new constitutional deviations."
Averoff Neophytou in his brief statement reminded that what they are voting for will be implemented for the first time in 2040.
Nikos Tornaritis came back saying that "when you appointed a banker as Minister of Finance, there was no conflict of interest? All of you who raise the issue and undermine your own prestige. You say that MPs, ministers and party officials should not be appointed. Resign and put some others who are more honest, more moral and have a clearer face in society. Put water in the mill of the so-called anti-systemic those who undermine your prestige without realizing it. We have the opinion of the former and current Attorney General. So if you want us to proceed with an unconstitutional framework to bring down the reform, there is a way."
The vote
AKEL's three amendments were voted down with 30 votes against, 16 in favour and 4 abstentions. The amendment to the Constitution was voted unanimously.
PtD: Historic breakthrough and first decisive step for the reform
In a written statement, the President of the Republic, Nikos Christodoulides, states that the vote by the overwhelming majority of the Plenary Session of the Parliament of the amendment to the Constitution that enshrines the financial autonomy of the Audit Office and establishes for the first time a specific term of office, as well as specific qualifications that the General and the Assistant Auditor General should have, It is a historic breakthrough and the first decisive step for the reform of one of the leading institutions of our state, 65 years after the establishment of the Republic of Cyprus.
As he notes, "our reform course continues with consistency and determination. We are proceeding with the implementation of important institutional changes that modernize the state, strengthen accountability and ensure a more efficient and transparent public administration at the service of the citizen."
Welcomes the Ministry of Justice
In a statement, the Ministry of Justice and Public Order welcomes with great satisfaction the vote by the Plenary Session of the Parliament in favour of the amendment to the Constitution that provides for the financial autonomy of the Audit Office and establishes for the first time the term of office and qualifications of the Auditor General and the Assistant Auditor General.
This is, as he states, the first decisive step for the reform of one of the leading institutions of the state, after sixty-five (65) whole years since the establishment of the Republic of Cyprus.
At the same time, the Ministry of Justice and Public Order emphasizes that the establishment of an Audit Council continues to be an unchangeable goal of the Government, an issue which is pending before the competent Parliamentary Committee and for which the Ministry expects the continuation of the discussion before it soon.
"The announcements of the President of the Republic for the implementation of a series of important institutional reforms with the aim of modernizing the state and the renewal and further optimization of the way it operates are proceeding with steady and decisive steps."
The Ministry of Justice and Public Order warmly thanks the President and the members of the Legal Committee for the cooperation they have shown in the promotion and adoption of the relevant bill and looks forward to the continuation of the good and constructive cooperation of the Ministry of Justice and Public Order with the House of Representatives for the continuation and completion of the reform and modernization of both the Audit Office, and the Legal Service of the Republic.
Securing its financial independence is a "milestone", says EY
The Audit Office welcomes the Parliament's approval of the amendments to the Constitution, regarding the financial independence of the Service, as well as the determination of qualifications and maximum term of office for the Auditor General and the Assistant Auditor General.
In a statement, EY states that the consolidation of its financial independence is a "milestone" as it "substantially strengthens its institutional independence and, in this way, serves the fundamental principles of the Rule of Law".
Of particular importance, it is added, is the fact that the Executive Power supported these regulations from the beginning, with the President of the Republic ensuring, through the Minister of Justice and Public Order, the preparation and promotion of the relevant bill to the Parliament for voting.
The Audit Office assures that it is determined to make use of these important tools provided by the State "in order to carry out its work with even greater determination and impartiality, for the benefit of transparency, good administration and citizens' trust in the institutions".
