ABSTRACT
Cyprus is a peculiar case in Southern Europe and the wider European family; it is a divided member-state of the European Union which has developed two separate party systems. The institutional framework of the Republic of Cyprus, established in August 1960, provided for the division of the electorate and elections across community lines. As a result, two party systems emerged, with the ethnic cleavage often invoked in and affecting intra-community politics. Since the collapse of hi-communalism in 1964, a sui generis situation has developed. The Greek Cypriots run the government of the Republic of Cyprus and the Turkish Cypriots the areas under their control. In the Republic of Cyprus, under the presidential system, the president can stay in power without formal party support or participation in the exercise of executive power. On the other hand, the non-recognized 'Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus', selfproclaimed in 1983 in the part occupied by the Turkish army, has a parliamentary system with enhanced powers for the president. On both sides, the present party systems developed after the division of Cyprus in 197 4. However, their main features are founded on divisions and social cleavages formed in the 1940s ( Christophorou 2006).
