Politics of Cyprus
The Republic of Cyprus is a unitary presidential representative republic, whereby the President of Cyprus is both head of state and head of government. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the parliament. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.
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Cyprus has been a divided island since 1974 when Turkey invaded to support Turkish Cypriots in response to a military coup on the island which was backed by the Athens government.[1] Since then, the internationally recognized Republic of Cyprus has controlled the south two-thirds, and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, only recognized by Turkey, the northern one-third. The Government of the Republic of Cyprus has continued as the sole internationally recognized authority on the island (as well as the United Kingdom being internationally recognized with respect to the SBAs), though in practice its power extends only to the government-controlled area.
Cyprus operates under a multi-party system, with communist AKEL and right-leaning Democratic Rally in the forefront. Centrist DIKO and lesser parties often form a coalition with the President's party and are allotted a number of ministries. The Economist Intelligence Unit rated Cyprus a "flawed democracy" in 2019.[2]