SP in disputed areas and other territories (3) – Turkish Republic of North Cyprus

Another disputed area that has a semi-presidential constitution is the Turkish Republic of North Cyprus. The constitution of the Turkish Cypriot State dates back to 1985 and is available here. The Turkish Republic of North Cyprus was proclaimed in 1983. So, this is the first constitution of the self-proclaimed state.

The president is directly elected (Art 105). The last presidential election was held in April 2005 and was won by Mehmet Ali Talat. The president serves for a five-year term. President Talat represent the Republican Turkish Party (CTP).

The constitution establishes a prime minister (Art. 112), whose cabinet needs the confidence of the Assembly to be formed (Art 115). The Assembly may table a vote of no-confidence during the legislative term. If the government loses the confidence vote, then it has to resign.

As I understand it, there have been a couple of periods of a divided executive in the area (meaning that the president and PM are from different parties, but the president’s party is represented in government), but no periods of cohabitation (where the president’s party is not represented in government). If I am mistaken, then please let me know.

Previous posts in this series:

Palestinian National Authority
Nagorno-Karabakh

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