The official swearing-in ceremony of the first Mayor of the newly established Municipality of Eastern Paphos, Mr Nikos Palios, together with the Deputy Mayors of Geroskipou, Konia, Timi, Acheleia and Agia Marinouda, as well as the Municipal Councillors, for the term 01/07/2024 – 30/06/2029, was held on 02/07/2024 at 19:30 in the Pantheon Hall of the Aliathon Hotel.
The ceremony began with the presentation of the members of the Municipal Council: for the Geroskipou district, Kyriakos Andreou, Giorgos Leonida, Anastasis Tsappis, Paraskevas (Skevos) Savvidis, Evangelos Athanasiou, Marios Hadjimitsis, Georgoula Christofi and Thanasis Zervas were elected. For the Municipal District of Konia, Fani Anastasiou and Michalis Kountouresis were elected, and for the Municipal District of Timi, Sotiris Pallari.
A blessing service followed, conducted by the Metropolitan of Paphos, Mr Tychikos, while on behalf of the Municipal Service a welcome address was given by the Municipal Secretary, Kostas Anastasiadis. An address was also delivered by the former acting Mayor of Geroskipou, Kyriakos Hadjivasilis, who gave a brief account of the work carried out in previous years.
The floor was then taken by Mayor Nikos Palios, who welcomed the members of the Municipal Council, the Deputy Mayors of the Municipal Districts and the Municipal Councillors, congratulated them on their election and wished them a successful term of office. He expressed his gratitude to all those who honoured him with their vote, giving him the opportunity to serve the community as Mayor, and pledged that he would give his very best to honour this mandate.
Mr Palios stressed: “During my mayoralty, party affiliations will be left outside the Town Hall, and together we will decide on the common good and the interest of our place. Everyone has a role in this journey.” He added that residents will be able to take an active part in improving daily life by expressing their ideas and views. The first period of the new Local Authority will be difficult, Mr Palios said, but even though the wider area has many shortcomings and lacks basic infrastructure, all of this must be overcome. Bringing together the five constituent parts and treating them equally, according to their particular characteristics and needs, is a key priority for the Mayor, he said, noting that each Municipal District will acquire its own role, will have its own share in development, and its own plan for the future.
The Deputy Mayors of the Municipal Districts also delivered addresses.
The ceremony was attended by political and institutional figures of the Paphos district and a large crowd from the Municipality of Eastern Paphos.