Introduction
Cyprus is a unitary presidential republic, which became independent in 1960. Its Constitution, adopted the same year, recognises the principle of local autonomy (Articles 173 to 178). The Constitution also includes lengthy provisions governing the balance of power between the Greek and Turkish communities in the country. According to the 1960 Constitution, all Cypriot citizens are declared as belonging to either the Greek Cypriot Community or to the Turkish Cypriot Community, with other religious groups being granted the option of membership in either group. According to the Demographic Report of the Statistical Service of the Republic of Cyprus (2011), Greek Cypriots number 71.8%, and Turkish Cypriots make up 9.5% of the population. The remaining 18.7% are foreign residents. In 1974, a Greek military-junta-supported coup prompted a military intervention by the Turkish government giving the Turkish Cypriots de facto control of the northern territory of the island. There is a currently a self-declared republic known as “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (“TRNC")", with a government recognised internationally only by Turkey, and occupies about 37% of the country's territory. For the purposes of this study, administrative divisions and competencies of the self-declared “TRNC" are not considered. Cypriot Citizens, since 2003, have controlled access and greater freedom of movement between the Goverment controlled area and the area under de-facto control of the Turkish Cypriot community.
Cyprus has a single-chamber Parliament, being the House of Representatives (Vouli ton Antiprosópon). It has eighty seats of which fifty-six seats are occupied by directly-elected Greek-Cypriots. The remaining twenty-four seats are nominally reserved for the Turkish-Cypriot community, which withdrew unilaterally from the constitutional structure after a constitutional crisis instigated by intercommunal violence of 1963. In addition, one representative is elected by each one of the Maronite, Armenian and Catholic (Latinoi) religious minorities, although they have no voting rights. However, the people belonging to the three minorities also vote in parliamentary elections as members of the Greek-Cypriot community.
The republic is composed of Districts, Municipalities and Communities. Although there are no regions as such, the national territory has been divided into six Districts, namely Famagusta, Kerynia, Larnaca, Limassol, Nicosia and Paphos, for administrative purposes. These form a devolved level of the central government and will therefore be considered as intermediary level of government in the following study. Kyrenia, in the northernmost part of the country and a section of two other districts are located in “TRNC", the self-declared republic which is occupied territory with a government recognised only by Turkey. The District Officer is the chief coordinator and liaison officer for the activities of all the ministries in the district and is accountable to the Ministry of the Interior. He is a senior public servant and is appointed by the Public Service Commission.
Local autonomous self-administration, however, is recognised by the Constitution and by the Law for Municipalities (demos, plural demoi) and Communities (koinotita, plural koinotites). Both have mainly administrative competences. All in all, Cyprus has currently six Districts, thirty-nine Municipalities[1] (in urban and touristic centres) and 478 Communities (in rural areas).[2] Of the thirty-nine Municipalities in Cyprus, nine are in the northern part of the island and, since 1974, have been displaced to the areas of the Republic of Cyprus which are under the effective control of the government.
These continue to maintain their legal status, although their mayors and councils have temporarily been displaced to the government-controlled area, as have the vast majority of their constituents.
According to the Dexia study[3], besides allocations from the central State, Local Self-Administrative Authorities (LSAA) in Cyprus have tax revenue from own-source taxes and fees they collect themselves. This revenue amounted to EUR 140 million in 2010. The Council of Ministers and the House of Representatives are responsible for the approval of the municipalities and communities' budgets.
Since 2018, the government is attempting to reform the system of regional administration by introducing a new system of provincial clusters. The overall aim of the reform is to grant more competencies and funds to the regional and local authorities. The reform is structured around 3 themes. First, to cluster together the services that are provided by the communities. This would lead to a more efficient and cost-effective structure. Second, the integration of smaller municipalities within bigger ones. Third, the management of the water reserves, solid waste and of the sewage system by provincial councils.
Central level
The central government has national legislative powers in all areas.
Provinces
The six districts ensure the implementation of Central Government and Ministries' that falls within the jurisdiction of central government in all Provinces.
District officers are responsible for applying government policy at the district level and supervise the functioning of the communities.
Local level
Out of the thirty-nine municipalities, nine correspond to the pre-1974 local authorities now located in the area of the Republic of Cyprus which is not under the effective control of the government. As mentioned before, these continue to maintain their legal status, although their mayors and councils have been temporarily displaced to the government-controlled area, as have the vast majority of their constituents.
Although the Constitution guarantees self-government implicitly, it does not give any indication on local competences. However, national laws allocate administrative responsibilities to local governments.
Municipal and community responsibilities include (in practice due to limited resources of communities, certain responsibilities are frequently assumed by district services):
- The cleaning and the hygiene of the municipality
- Transport: maintenance of roads within their boundaries;
- Street lighting;
- Planning: local planning, land development, including building permits;
- Public areas, including parks and cemeteries;
- Environment, including waste disposal, sewage management and treatment, as well as water supply and management;
- Municipal markets;
- Local tax system.
Normal municipalities and displaced municipalities legally have the exact same set of competences.
[1] According to the government website.
[2] According to the government website.
[3] A collective work of Dexia Crédit Local Research Department, Sub-national Governments in the European Union, Organisation responsibilities and finance, Dexia Ed, La Défense, 2008.
