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Cyprus Pages |
Welcome to ElectionInfo.com's Election Pages on Cyprus.
Cyprus gained independence from the United Kingdom in August 1960. In theory, the government of Cyprus is based on the 1960 constitution that divided power between the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities according to the size of their relative populations. In 1963 and 1964, however, the Turkish Cypriots withdrew from the government. The institutions of government continued to function with few changes, but their authority was limited in most respects by the Greek Cypriot community. The chief executive under the 1960 constitution is a Greek Cypriot president, elected by the Greek Cypriot community for a five-year term. The constitution calls for the Turkish Cypriot community to elect the vice president. The Greek Cypriot government continues to abide by the 1960 constitution when feasible, despite the lack of participation by the Turkish Cypriot community. Legislative power is vested in the House of Representatives, which is composed of 56 Greek Cypriots, with 24 seats left vacant for Turkish Cypriots.
In 1974 - after Cypriot forces led by Greek officers overthrew Cyprus’s President Makarios - Turkey took advantage of the instability and invaded Cyprus, winning control of the northern third of the country. In 1975 the Turkish Federated State of Cyprus was established in northern Cyprus. Its constitution provides for a popularly elected president, a 50-member unicameral legislative assembly, and a system of independent courts. Since the mid-1970s, the Turkish Cypriots have continued to have their own president and legislative institutions. In November 1983 the Turkish sector unilaterally declared itself to be the independent Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), although the United Nations (UN) has refused to recognize the state.
The main towns are administered by municipal corporations. Smaller towns are governed by commissions made up of a mukhtar, or headman, and a body of elders.
One of the conditions of independence in 1960 was the permanent ceding of small areas of land to the United Kingdom. Most of the area ceded consists of military bases at Episkopi, Akrotiri, and Dhekelia.
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