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The Republic of Cyprus has a presidential system of government. The president is
elected for five years directly by the people in a secret ballot with universal
suffrage. Executive power is exercised by a cabinet of 11 members which is
appointed by the president of the Republic. If the president is temporarily
absent or impeded, the president of the House of Representatives deputises for
him.
Legislative power is exercised by the House of Representatives. The deputies
are elected for five years by universal suffrage via a simple proportional
representation system. The House has 80 deputies, of whom 56 (70%) are elected
by the Greek Community and 24 (30%) by the Turkish Community. Because of the
situation which developed after 1963 and the Turkish invasion of 1974, the seats
of the Turkish-Cypriot community are vacant.
Justice is administered by the High Court of the Republic, the assize courts
and the district courts. The Central Bank of Cyprus is responsible for shaping
and implementing the monetary and credit policies of the State. The Central Bank
also manages the Republic’s currency reserves, supervises the banks and acts
as the government’s banker and financial representative. Under the
Constitution, the president of the Republic appoints a number of independent
officers of state, such as the Attorney-General (who is the Republic’s legal
adviser), the Auditor-General, the Director of the Central Bank and the
Commissioner for Administration.
Power at local government level is exercised by municipal and community
councils and groupings of communities. There are 33 municipalities, nine of
which are in the occupied area, and 485 community councils and groupings of
communities, 131 of which are in the occupied area. The municipal councils
provide services and have administrative powers in the cities and in two or
three large rural areas in which municipalities have been established, and the
community councils provide services and have administrative powers in the
villages. The councils are independent bodies, and their members are elected by
universal suffrage every five years.
Information in Greek and English about the political parties, the
Constitution, the legislature and the judicial body, the executive and the
ministries can be found on the Republic’s website. Links to all the websites
can be found on that site.
Other general information
As a result of the military invasion of Cyprus in 1974 and the occupation of
36.2% of the country, the lawful government of the Republic of Cyprus cannot
exercise control over the northern part of the country. On the basis of the
treaty of accession to the European Union, the implementation of the Community
acquis in that zone is suspended pending a settlement of the political problem.
The official languages of Cyprus are Greek and Turkish. The majority of
people speak at least one other language, in most cases English.
On 8 June 2007 the exchange rate of the Cyprus pound against the euro was
£1.00 = €1.7144 (€1 = £0.5833). The Cyprus pound joined Exchange Rate
Mechanism 2 on 29 April 2005. The central rate was set at €1 = £0.585274,
with a fixed range of + or – 15%. Cyprus adopted the euro, the single European
currency, on 1 January 2008.
The Republic is obliged to provide representation by a lawyer when a
plaintiff or defendant in a court case is unable to afford representation and an
application for the appointment of a representative is filed on a legal aid
basis (this happens most frequently in criminal cases).
Text last edited on: 12/2007
Source: European Union
© European Communities, 1995-2005
Reproduction is authorised.
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