The Constitution defines the Republic of Cyprus as an independent sovereign republic with a presidential system. It provides for the separation of powers, where the executive power is exercised by the President and the Council of ministers, the legislative power is exercised by the House of Representatives and the Justice is administered by the Supreme [...]
The electoral system varies depending on the type of election. According to the Constitution, the election of the President of the Republic is made by a universal vote on the basis of a majority system. A candidate shall be elected when s/he secures more than 50% of valid votes. If no candidate secures this percentage, a [...]
The Turkish invasion in the summer of 1974 brought about a territorial segregation of the population, which was completed in August / September 1975, when the United Nations moved north 8,000 Turkish Cypriots, the last remaining of the approximately 43,000 living in the southern part of the island. In February 1975, the Turkish Cypriot leadership [...]
A proportional system, introduced in 1995, is in force for parliamentary elections. The threshold was set to 1/56 (about 1.79%) of valid votes, which equals the number of votes required for occupying one of the 56 House seats. In 2015, the threshold for securing entry into the parliament was doubled, raised to 3.6%. Proportionality replaced [...]
