Mehmet Aktunç, the National Unity Party (UBP) candidate for mayor of the Nicosia Turkish Municipality, has pledged to actively pursue the long-stalled Urban Renewal Law and apply pressure on the central government to bring it into force. Highlighting that Nicosia lies within an earthquake zone, Aktunç stressed that ensuring the safety of older buildings is a matter of human life that cannot be postponed any further.
Actunç made these remarks during visits to the Cyprus Turkish Contractors Association and the Cyprus Turkish Bar Association, accompanied by UBP municipal council candidates. At both meetings, he outlined his priorities for the new term, covering municipal management, construction oversight, urban planning processes, and transparency.
Speaking at the Contractors Association, Aktunç criticised the lack of progress on urban renewal to date and stated that the municipality would not remain passive. He announced plans to collaborate closely with contractors and engineers, and to modernise the municipality's cumbersome procedures through the use of technology. "We will lift Nicosia back to its feet through shared ideas and common sense," he said, adding that the city's European credentials currently exist only in rhetoric, as the streets of Nicosia themselves attest.
At the Bar Association, discussions centred on enforcement of laws and regulations and oversight mechanisms. Aktunç said that shortcomings in existing regulations would be reviewed in consultation with the Bar Association, and that legal processes would be handled in close coordination. He underlined that his administration would build a transparent and accountable municipality where all decisions and actions are open to scrutiny.
Actunç concluded by reaffirming his goal of elevating Nicosia to the standards expected of a capital city and creating a model of governance that other municipalities would look to as an example, with public service at the heart of everything his team does.
