Elections in Cyprus
Citizens aged 18 or older may vote in Presidential, legislative, local, and European Parliamentary elections.
[8] Candidates for President must be citizens of the Republic of Cyprus over the age of 35 years who have not been accused of crimes relating to moral turpitude, who have not had their right to stand removed by a court prior to the elections and who are not mentally incapable of performing the duties of President.
The first candidates ordered in this way corresponding to the number of seats awarded to their list in each respective constituency are declared elected.
This made the British governor, Sir Ronald Storrs to ignore the assembly when passing the bills.
Two of the winning mayors were members of AKEL: Ploutis Servas in Limassol and Adam Adamantos in Famagusta, and the other six where Greek nationalists.
In 1946 the situation was reversed: 6 were either members or supported by AKEL, including Ioannis Klerides in Nicosia.
The bulk of EOKA supporters were in favour of Makarios III, whereas AKEL backed Ioannis Kleridis (father of Glafkos Klerides).
The Turkish Cypriot community elected Fazil Küçük for the position of vice president unopposed.
The next elections were due in 1965, but were postponed as a result of the extraordinary situation created by the intercommunal strife.
President Makarios distanced himself from his earlier enosis convictions in his 1968 presidential campaign and argued for the independence of Cyprus.
Turkish Cypriots were not participating in the government (see Cyprus dispute) but they had separate elections were Fazil Küçük was reelected as vice president.
Following the death of Makarios in 1977, the then President of the House of Representatives, Spyros Kyprianou, assumed duties temporarily until 1978 elections.
In 1983, Kyprianou's Democratic Party forged an alliance with AKEL based on an agreed agenda: the so-called minimum program.
By 1985, AKEL was not satisfied with Kyprianou's policies, especially his position in negotiations (see Cyprus dispute for more) and the partnership collapsed.
At the same time a partnership of Kyprianou's democratic party and Lyssaridis's EDEK was rejecting the spirit of the Ghali ideas all together and argued that both Vasiliou and Klerides were equally willing to compromise.
For the 2003 election, EDEK leader Yiannakis Omirou declared himself candidate and the democratic rally initially backed him.
Because of the course of negotiations Clerides asked to remain president for another couple of years, so the democratic rally backed him.
This made EDEK turn to the opposition coalition already formed between AKEL and Democratic Party.
In the meantime the attorney general Alekos Markides disagreed with his party, Democratic Rally and ran as an independent candidate.
The right-wing Democratic Rally received about 26% of the votes, but due to a coalition ranged against it, was left with no Deputies.
Following a law passed by the House of Representatives the number of seats allocated to the Greek Cypriot community was increased from 35 to 56.
Vassos Lyssarides, leader of socialist party EDEK, was elected House President.
They were held under a newly adopted system of proportional representation according to which a party receiving 1/56 of the valid votes or (1,79%) elected a House member.
