2022-2023 Cyprus Country Report

CYPRUSCOUNTRY REPORT 2022
The division of Cyprus remains one of
the most long-standing and prominent
issues in the political arena. UN-brokered
peace talks between the Greek and Turkish
Cypriot leaderships, which first began in
1968, are still ongoing. These negotiations
are aimed at finding a sustainable solution
to the ‘Cyprus Problem’, which led to the
de facto division of the island between
the mainly Greek-speaking south and the
mainly Turkish-speaking north for over
four decades. Anastasiades and Turkish
Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar have been
holding talks in a bid to reunify the island
though this has proved to be challenging
as Tatar openly supports a two-state
solution. Efforts to resume the UN-led
talks are underway, but rising tensions
since 2020 between Cyprus, Greece and
Turkey over hydrocarbons explorations
in Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)
and the upcoming presidential elections
have complicated the process further.
CONSTITUTION,
INSTITUTIONS AND
ADMINISTRATION
The 1960 constitution provided for power
sharing between the Greek Cypriot and
Turkish Cypriot communities. Votes
on important issues required separate
parliamentary majorities, and the
Greek Cypriot president and the Turkish
Cypriot vice president both had the right
of veto on important decisions. The
system of government is presidential,
with the separation of powers between
the executive and the legislature. The
presidential term lasts five years, with the
next presidential election due in February
2023. Ministers, who are appointed by
the president, cannot hold seats in the
House of Representatives. The House of
Representatives is elected by proportional
representation. Its normal term is five years.
DIVIDED ISLAND
In 1960 Cyprus gained independence from Britain and became a unitary state of both
Greek- and Turkish-Cypriots (respectively around 80% and 20% of the population). In
July 1974, a right-wing coup backed by the military junta in power in Greece overturned
the democratically elected government, forcing the Cypriot President Archbishop
Makarios to flee. This prompted Turkey, one of the guarantor powers, which also include
Greece and the UK, to send its troops into the island to support the Turkish Cypriot
minority. Fierce fighting followed and the ensuing ceasefire line – known as the Green
Line and patrolled by United Nations troops – has effectively partitioned the island
ever since. However, visitors can safely access either side through various checkpoints
along the Green Line. Today, Nicosia is the world’s last divided capital since the fall of
the Berlin Wall. The population of the southern two-thirds of the island, controlled
by the government of the Republic of Cyprus, is almost entirely Greek Cypriot, while
the population of the northern third, controlled by the breakaway Turkish Republic of
Northern Cyprus (recognised only by Turkey) comprises Turkish Cypriots, settlers from
the Turkish mainland and around 42,000 Turkish troops.
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