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Cyprus
Women in decision-making positions
16%
Members of local deliberative bodies are women (546 elected women)
No woman is Head of State/Government
14%
Parliamentarians are women
19%
Ministers are women

Government organization

Cyprus is a unitary republic with two spheres of government: central and local.

A tier of central government followed by one tier of local government: 39 municipalities and 487 communities.
Central government
  • Head of State: The President is directly elected by voters.
  • Head of Government: The President is the Head of State and the Head of Government.
  • Legislative body: The House of Representatives is a unicameral legislature whose members are directly elected by voters.
  • Executive body: The Council of Ministers is composed of seven Greek ministers and three Turkish ministers. The Greek ministers are designated by the President and the Turkish ministers are designated by the Vice-President. The ministers are appointed by an instrument signed by both the President and the Vice-President.
Local government
  • Organization: Local government is organized into one tier of 39 municipalities (urban areas with over 5,000 inhabitants) and 487 community-level local government units (rural areas with less than 5,000 inhabitants), including the local government units within the Turkish-occupied territory. Separate municipalities for Greeks and Turks exist in the five largest towns of Cyprus: Nicosia, Limassol, Famagusta, Larnaca, and Paphos. Since the Turkish invasion and the subsequent occupation of the northern part of Cyprus, nine municipalities and 137 communities have been temporarily relocated. These municipalities and communities continue to maintain their legal status within Cyprus, although their local government units have been displaced to the Cyprus government-controlled area, as have the vast majority of their constituents. These constituents remain voting members of their former municipality/community as well as the new municipality/community that they have been displaced to.
  • Competencies: Local government is responsible for making by-laws, infrastructure development, service provision, public health and sanitation, issuing contracts, and imposing taxes and fees.
  • Ministerial oversight: Ministry of Interior

Overview of local government

Local government composition
Municipalities

Deliberative body: The municipal council is composed of 16-30 elected members, including the mayor and the deputy mayor. The mayor is directly elected by voters; the mayor is also vested with executive powers.

Executive body: The administrative committee is composed of the mayor, the deputy mayor, and additional members selected by and from the municipal council, totaling at least 1/3 and not more than ½ of the total membership of the municipal council, with the mayor and deputy mayor as ex-officio members. If there are 11 or less municipal council members, all members of the municipal council will comprise the administrative committee.

Community-level government

Deliberative body: The community council is composed of 4-8 elected members, including the community leader and the deputy community leader. The community leader is elected by voters; the community leader is also vested with executive powers.

Executive body: The community leader, assisted by a deputy community leader elected by and from the community council, is the executive of the community level of government.

Local government elections
Electoral system

Electoral system for local deliberative bodies: proportional representation (open list)

  • An open party-list proportional electoral system using a preferential vote is used for local deliberative body elections. The voter shows preference in favor of no more than 1 in 4 candidates on the list by marking a cross of preference. Seats are allocated to each coalition according to which candidates have the most preference crosses. The council of the Greek municipality in any such town is elected by the Greek electors of the town and the council of the Turkish municipality in such town is elected by the Turkish electors of the town.

Electoral system for mayors and community leaders: majority/plurality

  • The mayor/community leader is directly elected by voters using a plurality electoral system, on a separate ballot from the rest of the local deliberative body members.

Sources: Municipalities Law, 2022 (amended the same year), articles 13, 27, 33 and 35; Communities Act, 1999 (amended through 2021), articles 31 and 40

Quotas
  • Gender quotas: No
  • Additional quotas: No
Term of elections
  • Term length: 5 years
  • Last local elections: 2016
  • Next local elections: 2021 (postponed until the implementation of local government reform, at the latest 2024)
Electoral management body

Central Electoral Office

National legal framework on local government
National legal framework
  • Constitution of the Republic of Cyprus, 1960 (amended through 2022);
  • Communities Act, 1999 (amended through 2022);
  • Municipalities Law, 2022 (amended the same year).
Constitutional provisions on local government

There are no constitutional provisions that establish local government in Cyprus. Municipalities and their competencies are mentioned in Articles 173-178 of the Constitution of the Republic of Cyprus of 1960 (amended through 2022).

Legislative provisions on local government

The House of Representatives is responsible for establishing the national legal framework on local government. The key pieces of legislation regulating local government are the Communities Act of 1999 (amended through 2022) and the Municipalities Law of 2022 (amended the same year). According to Articles 81 and 82 of the Communities Act, the administration of all local affairs falls within the competence of the municipal or community councils, including the power to make by-laws, levy local taxes, and establish their own budget.

Sources:

1. UN Women: Data on share of women in local government as of 1 January 2023.

2. UN Women: Information on Head of State and Government as of 3 October 2023.

3. Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU): Data on share of women in the single/lower chamber of parliament as of 1 January 2023.

4. IPU and UN Women: Data on share of women in ministerial positions as of 1 January 2023.

5. Information on local government organization as of 1 January 2023.