Cyprus - 2016 Parliamentary Election
The Republic of Cyprus is a constitutional republic and multiparty presidential democracy. In 2013 voters elected President Nicos Anastasiades in free and fair elections. On May 22, voters elected 56 representatives to the 80-seat House of Representatives (Vouli Antiprosopon) in free and fair elections.
In the 22 May parliamentary elections voters elected members of House of Representatives of the Republic of Cyprus (parliament) for five years under the proportional representation system from six multi-member electoral districts with a preferential element. Three representatives with non-voting rights are elected by three constitutionally recognized minority religious groups. The elections are taking place in the context of renewed negotiations to settle the Cyprus problem, ways of its possible solution and economic crisis. The election law and the Political Party Law were substantially amended in December 2015. Most of the newly adopted provisions relate to party and campaign finance regulations and address some of the previous recommendations by OSCE/ODIHR. The amendments raised the threshold for political parties to participate in the second stage of mandate allocation from 1.8 to 3.6 per cent, about five months ahead of the planned elections. Most of the OSCE/ODIHR NAM interlocutors opined that this change was introduced to prevent small and new parties from entering the parliament. They also mentioned the lack of inclusive and public consultations, contrary to OSCE commitments and international good practice.
Both parliamentary and non-parliamentary political parties are entitled to receive public funding. Political parties may also receive private donations, both monetary and in-kind. Candidates are required to submit reports on the campaign expenses within three weeks after the publication of election results, and they are checked by the Auditor General. The 2015 amendments provide that these financial reports be published in newspapers.
The media landscape is diverse with a variety of commercial and public broadcasters, print and online media. By law, during the electoral period all licensed broadcasters should ensure equal and objective treatment of all candidates. The coverage must be based on the percentage of votes the party received during the previous elections, which some political parties expressed a degree of dissatisfaction with. The Cyprus Radio-Television Authority oversees the operation of private broadcasters in the country to ensure equal treatment of electoral contestants during the campaign. The print media is selfregulated and is not subject to any legal restrictions during the campaign period.
As in the previous elections, on 22 May 2016 no party secured an outright majority and only two parties won more than 10 seats. The Democratic Rally (DISY), led by the present President of the Republic Nicos Anastasiades, remained the largest force in the House of Representatives and won 18 of the 56 seats at stake. The AKEL (Left) New Forces, led by AKEL leader Andros Kyprianou, came second. The National People's Front (ELAM), led by Mr. Christos Christou, entered parliament for the first time.
The 2016 elections were the first to be held under President Anastasiades, who succeeded Mr. Demetris Christofias (AKEL) in 2013. Following the 2013 bailout received from the European Union, the IMF and the ECB, the country implemented a series of reforms and austerity plans. Both President Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci, elected in April 2015, have been advocating for reunification of the island as a federated State. During the election campaigning, the major parties focused on reunification with Northern Cyprus and economic issues.
No laws limit the participation of women and members of minorities in the political process, and women and minorities did participate. The 24 seats assigned to Turkish Cypriots in the House of Representatives were unfilled. There was one woman in the 11-seat Council of Ministers and 10 women in the 56-seat House of Representatives.
In 2014 some Turkish Cypriots complained that problems in the electoral roll disenfranchised a number of Turkish Cypriot voters. A law enacted in 2014 automatically registered all adult Turkish Cypriot holders of a Republic of Cyprus identity card residing in the area administered by Turkish Cypriots in the electoral roll for the European Parliament elections. Turkish Cypriots not residing in that area needed to apply for registration in the electoral roll, as did all other Cypriot citizens. The government did not automatically register an unspecified number of Turkish Cypriots residing in the north because they were incorrectly listed in the official civil registry as residents of the government-controlled area.
The parliamentary elections of 2016 were elections of peculiarities, but also of upheavals that ultimately reserved their results. Their most essential feature was the fact that for the first time the degree of difficulty for small parties and other narrow-minded formations seeking entry into Parliament became even greater compared to the past, as a result of the increase of the electoral measure to 3.6%. What most expected, precisely because of the increase in the previous electoral measure, was a new Parliament with fewer parties, with the ballot box, however, refuting these estimates and raising the number of parliamentary parties from six to eight at the end of the day. The so-called small ones were, in fact, the big winners of the elections, since, contrary to the predictions and estimates that existed, they managed to realize their electoral goals to the fullest, ensuring a parliamentary presence. In their maiden presence in parliamentary elections, the then newly formed Solidarity Movement of Eleni Theocharous and the Citizens' Alliance of George Lillikas, managed to overcome with relative ease the high obstacle they had on their way, ie the electoral measure of 3.6%, while Ecologists also managed to retain in Parliament. The frame of the children came to complete ELAM, which at that time, developing a special dynamic among the electorate, passed in turn for the first time the entrance of the Parliament. A factor that in 2016 worked for the small and contributed to achieving their goals, was the large percentage of abstentions, which as it turned out affected the major parties, which at the same time saw their electoral power decrease compared to 2011.
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