The president, who serves as both head of state and head of government, is elected by popular vote for up to two five-year terms. Former foreign minister Nikos Christodoulides—an independent candidate backed by the centrist Democratic Party (DIKO) and Democratic Alignment (DIPA), the center-left Movement for Social Democracy (EDEK), and the right-wing Solidarity—was elected with 52 percent of the vote in a February 2023 runoff against former diplomat Andreas Mavroyiannis, who was supported by the left-wing Progressive Party of Working People (AKEL). The two had outpolled a record 12 other candidates in the first round earlier in February. The outgoing incumbent, Nicos Anastasiades of DISY, had already served two terms and was ineligible to run again.

The unicameral House of Representatives has 80 seats filled through proportional representation in six multimember electoral districts. Members serve five-year terms. In practice, only 56 seats are occupied, as the 24 seats reserved for the Turkish Cypriot community have been left unfilled since Turkish Cypriot representatives withdrew from the chamber in 1964.

In the 2021 legislative elections, which were held in accordance with international standards, DISY led the voting with 17 seats, down one from 2016, followed by AKEL with 15, also a one-seat decline. DIKO received nine seats, the far-right National Popular Front (ELAM) received four, the Movement for Social Democracy–Citizens’ Alliance (EDEK-SYPOL) also took four seats, and the Green Party (KOSP) secured three seats. The liberal centrist DIPA won parliamentary representation for the first time, receiving four seats.

Also in 2021, the parliament voted to postpone that year’s municipal elections until the 2024 implementation of structural reforms that would, among other changes, reduce the number of municipalities. The incumbent municipal councils would remain in place while the reforms were pending.

Electoral laws are generally fair. Voters may only cast ballots at their locality of residence, not in other parts of Cyprus, and from abroad under certain conditions.

A wide array of parties compete in the political system. The center-right DISY and the leftist AKEL usually split the largest share of the vote, but other parties are often able to play significant roles. In the most recent elections, the vote threshold for parties to win representation in the legislature was lowered to 3.6 percent, resulting in seats for a record seven parties. In November 2023, one lawmaker left KOSP and joined the new liberal Volt Cyprus party, allowing it to enter the parliament for the first time.

Cyprus has experienced regular democratic transfers of power between rival parties in recent decades. Multiple opposition parties are able to gain representation in the legislature.

People are generally able to express their political choices without undue interference from outside actors.

Three recognized Christian minority groups—the Armenians, the Latins (Roman Catholics), and the Maronites—each have one nonvoting representative in the parliament. Members of these communities vote in special elections for their representatives, as well as in the general elections. The 24 seats reserved for the Turkish Cypriot population remain unfilled. However, in the 2019 European Parliament (EP) elections, AKEL’s Niyazi Kızılyürek became the first Turkish Cypriot to be elected to the EP or to win office in the Republic of Cyprus since 1964.

Women in Cyprus have equal political rights, but sexism and patriarchal attitudes discourage them from playing a more active role in politics. Parties have failed to meet internal quotas mandating that a minimum 30 percent of their candidates be women, and President Christodoulides failed to achieve his stated goal of a gender-balanced cabinet in 2023. Only eight women were elected to the parliament in 2021, a decline from the 2016 results. Nevertheless, that year Annita Demetriou of DISY became the first woman to be elected as parliament speaker, and in March 2023 she was elected as leader of DISY, making her the first woman to lead a major political party in Cyprus.

The interests of the LGBT+ community, which still faces significant discrimination from some sectors of society, are not always well represented in the political system.

Immigrants have some access to naturalization procedures and the political rights associated with citizenship, generally requiring several years of legal residency to apply. Separately, many Cyprus-born residents with one Turkish and one Turkish Cypriot parent have faced lengthy delays in their citizenship applications, leaving them stateless in some cases. In August 2023, the Supreme Court rejected a petition from several such individuals, arguing that they had Turkish citizenship and were not stateless.

The freely elected government is able to make and implement policy without improper interference from unelected entities.

Cyprus has strong anticorruption laws that are, for the most part, adequately enforced. However, there have been a number of high-profile corruption scandals in recent years, and the government has faced criticism for early releases and pardons of individuals convicted on corruption charges.

In general, the government operates with openness and transparency. A freedom of information law was enacted in 2017, though civil society activists argued that its exemptions were too broad.

Most candidates for the February 2023 presidential election agreed to comply with an enhanced asset-declaration procedure proposed by independent experts who regarded the legally required declarations as inadequate.

Freedom of speech is constitutionally guaranteed, and media freedom is generally respected. A vibrant independent press frequently holds the authorities to account. Numerous private outlets compete with public media. There are no restrictions on access to online news sources.

Religious freedom is constitutionally guaranteed and generally protected in practice. Nearly 90 percent of those living in government-controlled Cyprus are Orthodox Christians, and the Orthodox Church enjoys certain privileges, including religious instruction and some religious services in public schools. Non-Orthodox students may opt out of such activities. The government also constitutionally recognizes and subsidizes non-Orthodox Christian and Muslim religious institutions, and it facilitates crossings to and from Northern Cyprus for the purpose of worship at religious sites. Unrecognized religious groups can receive tax exemptions by registering as nonprofit organizations.

Muslim groups have occasionally faced obstacles in the operation of their religious sites or discrimination by the general public. Muslims continue to criticize the limited hours of access to Hala Sultan Tekke, an important holy site in Larnaca that is administered by the Department of Antiquities.

Academic freedom is respected. However, state schools use textbooks containing negative language about Turkish Cypriots and Turkey, and there is pressure from elements of the political system regarding schools’ treatment of sensitive historical and unification-related issues.

People are generally free to engage in political and other sensitive discussions without fear of retribution or surveillance.

Freedom of assembly is constitutionally guaranteed and generally respected in practice.

Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) are generally free to operate without government interference. However, the government has used regulatory rules to harass specific organizations in recent years. A 2020 amendment to the law on associations empowered the Interior Ministry to swiftly deregister NGOs that it deems inactive or noncompliant with the law’s filing requirements. The ministry then deregistered Action for Equality, Support, Antiracism (KISA), which was known for its advocacy on behalf of migrants and asylum seekers, on the grounds that it failed to file documents within the required deadline. The information was submitted after the deadline, but in 2021 the ministry ordered banks to freeze the organization’s assets. An appeal to the Supreme Court was pending at the end of 2023. Separately, several NGOs that had their bank accounts temporarily frozen in 2022—under indiscriminate policies related to addresses in Northern Cyprus—regained access in 2023 following diplomatic interventions.

Workers have the right to strike, form independent trade unions, and engage in collective bargaining. The law provides remedies for antiunion discrimination, though enforcement is uneven.

The judiciary is independent. Supreme Court judges are appointed by the president on the recommendation of the court’s existing members, and lower court judges are appointed by Supreme Court judges in their capacity as the Supreme Council of Judicature.

The justice system generally upholds due process standards. Law enforcement agencies largely observe safeguards against arbitrary arrest and detention, and criminal defendants have access to counsel and fair trial procedures.

Residents are free from major threats to physical security, though human rights monitors have noted cases of police brutality. Overcrowding and other problematic conditions have been reported at prisons and migrant detention centers.

In late 2023, a third inquest was opened into the high-profile case of a soldier whose family alleged that he had been harassed and killed by fellow soldiers in 2005 to cover up criminal activity. Earlier inquiries had suggested suicide or an accidental death, but a 2020 European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) ruling found those investigations to be inadequate.

Despite government efforts to combat prejudice and inequality, members of non–Greek Cypriot minority groups, including migrants and asylum seekers, face discrimination and occasional violence. In August and September 2023, extremist rioters engaged in violent attacks aimed at foreigners and their businesses in the city of Limassol and the village of Chloraka in Paphos District. Police were criticized for failing to maintain order, though a number of suspects were arrested. Tensions had risen in Chloraka amid a dispute over migrants living illegally in a closed apartment complex.

More irregular migrants departed Cyprus than arrived in 2023, and the number of new asylum requests declined. According to the European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE), 10,662 asylum applications were received during the year, compared with 20,593 in 2022. The government reported a 75 percent reduction in arrivals from African countries, but the number of Syrian refugees traveling from Lebanon increased sharply.

Most asylum seekers arrive by land through the TRNC, prompting allegations from the Cypriot government that Ankara is encouraging irregular migration. Cypriot authorities have continued controversial maritime pushbacks to prevent arrivals by sea. The Pournara reception center remained overcrowded in 2023, hosting about 1,500 people; it had been built in 2014 as an emergency reception facility for up to 400 people, and later expanded to accommodate 1,000. Meanwhile, authorities struggled to properly house unaccompanied minors and other vulnerable groups at Pournara.

In 2021, the government simplified procedures for hiring asylum seekers, though they were permitted to work only in certain sectors and categories of employment. Under a January 2023 ministerial decision that took effect later in the year, asylum seekers would be allowed to begin working nine months after submitting their asylum applications, up from one month before the new rule.

Gender discrimination in the workplace remains a problem, including with respect to hiring practices, salaries, and sexual harassment; laws against such discrimination have not been adequately enforced.

Antidiscrimination laws generally prohibit bias based on sexual orientation, and there are legal protections for transgender people on some issues. However, the LGBT+ community continues to face societal discrimination in practice.

There are few impediments to freedom of movement within the government-controlled area. The UN buffer zone dividing the island remains in place, but the number of official crossing points between north and south has increased over the last decade.

Property rights are generally respected in Cyprus.

A 1991 law stipulates that property left by Turkish Cypriots after 1974, when a Turkish invasion divided the island, is administered by the Interior Ministry. In 2022, the government confirmed that many Turkish Cypriot properties had been illegally sublet by Greek Cypriots who exploited the low rents charged by the Interior Ministry’s management agency. Meanwhile, Turkish Cypriot owners continued to be denied access and restitution.

Under the law in the north, Greek Cypriots can appeal to the Immovable Property Commission (IPC), which has been recognized by the ECtHR as a responsible authority for the resolution of property disputes. However, its work has been seriously impaired in recent years by a lack of funding from the TRNC and Ankara.

Personal social freedoms are largely unrestricted. Same-sex civil unions are allowed under a 2015 law. However, there are no adoption rights for same-sex couples. Domestic violence remains a problem despite official efforts to prevent and punish it. Government-funded shelters are open to survivors of domestic abuse.

The legal framework generally protects workers against exploitative conditions of employment, and the government has made genuine progress in combating human trafficking. However, persistent problems include insufficient resources for labor inspectors and illegally low pay for undocumented migrant workers. Migrant workers and asylum seekers remain vulnerable to sexual exploitation and forced labor.