Government & Politics in North Cyprus
January 20, 2009 by Essential Ed
Filed under North Cyprus Guide, Stats and Facts
In North Cyprus, politics is part of everyday life, and you will find that Turkish Cypriots talk politics a lot – in coffee shops, on business premises, village squares and even over games of backgammon. With something like 14 political parties in North Cyprus, you can expect to see plenty of rallies and cars driving around towns with their loudspeakers blaring out campaign messages and slogans!
Below we have detailed the general structure of how the political and judicial systems work in North Cyprus so that you get the gist!
The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is a completely independent secular republic with a democratic governmental system based on the principles of social justice and the rule of law. The Republic’s 1985 Constitution provides for a semi-presidential system with a president as the head of state.
Government
The political structure is comprised from an independent Council of Ministers composed of a prime minister and 10 ministers, a Legislative Assembly, and independent judicial court bodies, either elected or appointed.
The Head of State of the TRNC is a president, elected directly for a five-year term. The President is elected for a period of five years and must be of Cypriot parentage. He/she has to be over thirty years of age and also have a five-year residence qualification, as well as being a graduate of an institution of higher education.
The Council of Ministers (government) is appointed by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister. The current Prime Minister is Derviş Eroğlu and the current government is the UBP Party (National Unity Party). Elections for a new TRNC government were held in April 2009 which resulted in the ousting of the CTP Party (Republican Turkish Party) after 6 six years in power.
The first president of the TRNC was its founder, Rauf R. Denktaş, since the Declaration of Independence in 1983, and he was subsequently re-elected for another four terms equalling 20 years (not bad going!), until the current president of North Cyprus, Mehmet Ali Talat (CTP party) was elected and then inaugurated on the 25th of April, 2005.
Judicial System
The TRNC has its own independent judicial system with its various levels of authority from the Supreme Courts, including Court of Appeal and Constitutional Court, down to Subordinate Courts such as the District, Family and Assize courts.
There is a Legislative Assembly comprising of 50 members who have the power to enact laws, exercise control over the Council of Ministers, debate and approve bills in connection with the budget, as well as giving general and special amnesties and to decide whether death penalties imposed by the courts should be carried out. Also important is that it has the power to ratify international agreements.
It also has its own governing body called the Supreme Council of Judicature, which is made up of the President and the judges of the Supreme Court, and individual members which are appointed the President, Legislative Assembly, Attorney-General and also the Bar Association. This oversees promotions, transfers and other matters which relate to the discipline of all judges in the TRNC.
For more information on the TRNC government you can visit www.trncpio.org or visit our Stats & Facts for North Cyprus section offering more articles on subjects such as economy, currency, banking, religion and education amongst others.