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Information on the Cyprus House of Representatives and Cyprus Parlimentary Elections
THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Legislative authority is exercised by the House of Representatives. Its members are elected for a five-year term. The current House was elected in 2006. At the time of its establishment the House consisted of 50 members, 35 of whom were to be Greek Cypriots and 15 Turkish Cypriots. According to the Constitution the ratio is 70% Greek Cypriots and 30% Turkish Cypriots. Through a constitutional amendment in 1985, the number of seats was increased to 80 - 56 allocated to Greek Cypriot members and 24 reserved for Turkish Cypriot deputies.
Following the withdrawal of the Turkish Cypriot members in 1964 the House has been functioning only with the Greek Cypriot members. The Maronite, Armenian and Latin communities, who vote as part of the Greek Cypriot community, elect one additional representative each from their ranks. These non-voting representatives attend meetings but do not participate in the House deliberations. They are consulted in matters concerning affairs of particular interest to their respective group.
PARLIMENTARY ELECTIONS
The House of Representatives is elected by universal, direct, secret and compulsory vote for a five-year term. Elections throughout the state’s territory take place on the second Sunday of the month, which precedes the end of the term of office of the outgoing House.
The current electoral system is close to the simple proportional representation, allowing for the representation of smaller parties and ensuring a more equitable allocation of seats according to parties’real power.
By virtue of the Electoral Law, for general election purposes, the territory of Cyprus is divided into six electoral districts, which correspond to the state’s administrative districts. The seats allocated for each district are twenty one for Nicosia, twelve for Limassol, eleven for Famagusta, five for Larnaka, four for Pafos and three for Kerynia. Each voter can choose a party or an independent candidate. There is no option for voting for candidates from different parties.
The office of a Representative is incompatible with that of a Minister, Mayor, member of a municipal council or of a member of the armed or security forces of the Republic or with any other public or municipal office or position.
The first Parliamentary elections were held in July 1960. The last parliamentary elections were held on 21 May 2006. The distribution of seats by party was as follows:
Party Votes % Seats
AKEL-LEFT-NEW FORCES 131.237 31,16 18
DISY (DEMOCRATIC RALLY) 127.734 30,33 18
DIKO (DEMOCRATIC PARTY) 75.429 17,91 11
EDEK (SOCIAL DEMOCRATS) 37.531 8,91 5
EUROKO (EUROPEAN PARTY) 24.152 5,73 3
ECOLOGISTS 8.192 1,95 1
EDI (UNITED DEMOCRATS) 6.563 1,56 -
FREE CITIZENS’ MOVEMENT 5.155 1,22 -
EURODI (EUROPEAN DEMOCRACY) 1.861 0,44 -
HUNTERS 1.111 0,26 -
ORGANIZATION AND FUNCTIONING OF THE HOUSE
The functioning and procedures of the House are regulated, according to the Constitution, by its Internal Rules of Procedure. Sessions of the House usually last for nine to ten months. Extraordinary sessions may also be summoned on the request of ten Representatives. The Plenary may decide the House’s dissolution by an absolute majority before the end of its five-year term of office.
The meetings of the House are usually held every Thursday and are open to the public. The quorum of the House consists of at least one third of the total number of its members. The agenda for a meeting of the House includes four chapters: A) legislative work, B) introduction of Bills and documents, C) questions by Representatives addressed to various Ministries and the relevant answers of the Ministers and D)matters entered by Members for debate.
The President conducts and coordinates the proceedings of the House, assisted by two Representatives as Clerks and one as Administrative Clerk of the House. He represents the House at events held in and outside the House, sees to its smooth organization and management and addresses, on behalf of the House, the President of the Republic and other officials. In the event of the President’s temporary absence or temporary incapacity to perform his/her duties, the President of the House acts in his stead.
In order for a political party group to be formed in the House, a given party has to have at least 12% of the total number of seats. Each political party group appoints its parliamentary spokesman and informs the President of the House accordingly.
The parliamentary party leaders’meetings constitute an informal institution, which plays a steering and coordinating role in relation with the House work in plenary or in committees or with other activities of the House.
The composition of parliamentary committees is decided by the Committee of Selection reflecting the political parties’ strength in the House and is endorsed by the Plenary. Committees consider Bills introduced in the House for adoption and all matters introduced in Plenary and referred to them. In addition, each Committee may consider on its own motion any other matter falling within its competence.
THE POLITICAL ROLE AND COMPETENCES OF THE HOUSE
The House has the right to amend the Constitution, except for its basic articles.
The House legislative function consists of the enactment, amendment or abolition of legal rules. The right to introduce Bills belongs to the Ministers and that to introduce Private Bills to the Representatives, provided that Private Bills do not entail any increase in budgetary expenditure. The House also adopts secondary legislation (regulations) and ratifies international treaties and conventions. The House has the power to confirm or reject a proclamation of emergency.
The President of the Republic is invested in office by the House of Representatives. The House also moves the procedure for deposition of the President of the Republic from office on grounds of high treason or incapacity.
The House exercises both a direct and indirect parliamentary scrutiny on the government’s actions and policies. Scrutiny is exercised indirectly through the right the House has to amend or reject in total the Bills introduced by the executive, as well as through the yearly report of the Commissioner for Administration (Ombudsman), which is submitted to competent Ministries and through entering matters for debate in Plenary, as well as by setting up a committee of enquiry for an in-depth consideration of a matter.
The House influences the shaping of economic and financial policy through the consideration and approval of the annual state budget.
THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES IN INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
The House international activity is centred on exploring existing possibilities in the field of parliamentary diplomacy. An essential component of this activity is the substantial contribution of the House of Representatives towards achieving a settlement of the Cyprus problem, based on pertinent UN resolutions and in line with the acquis communautaire. Moreover, the role of the House has been significant in achieving Cyprus’ accession to the European Union, in terms of harmonizing domestic legislation, as well as exercising parliamentary diplomacy in the European sphere.
In parallel, the substantial contribution of the House of Representatives to the debate on issues of a wider interest has been pursued through the further strengthening of bilateral relations, the active participation of the House in European and international parliamentary organizations, as well as its hosting of several European and international parliamentary activities.
At the bilateral level, the House maintains close friendly relations and cooperation with most parliaments in the world. Its main tools are the exchange of visits and the establishment, where possible, of respective Friendship Groups between the House and other parliaments. On the ground of reciprocity, thirty six Friendship Groups operate today in the House of Representatives with other parliaments.
The House of Representatives is a fully-fledged member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the Inter-Parliamentary Union and the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. The House is also a founding member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the Association of Asian Parliaments for Peace, the Euro- Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly, the Parliamentary Assembly for the Mediterranean and the Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy.
Source © Cyprus Press and Information Office
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