SHARECountry Data
Cyprus (Republic of Cyprus) has a Unicameral parliament with the use of voluntary party quotas. 8 of 56 (14%) seats in the Vouli Antiprosopon / House of Representatives are held by women.
At a glance
Structure of Parliament: Unicameral
Are there legislated quotas...
- For the Single/Lower House? No
- For the Sub-National Level? No
Are there voluntary quotas...
- Adopted by political parties? Yes
Is there additional information?...
- Yes
Last updated: Feb 23, 2023
Single/Lower House
Vouli Antiprosopon / House of Representatives
| Total seats | 56 |
| Total Women | 8 |
| % Women | 14% |
| Election Year | 2021 |
| Electoral System | List PR |
| Quota Type | No legislated |
| Election details | IDEA Voter Turnout - IPU Parline |
Voluntary Political Party Quotas*
| Party | Official name | Details, Quota provisions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Movement of Social Democrats | Kinima Sosialdimokraton [EDEK] | The main goal of ISDS is the participation and representation of women at all levels of its organization. For this purpose, at least 30% representation in collective bodies is guaranteed temporarily and until full equality is finally achieved. (EDEK statutes, Article 10) | |
| Democratic Rally of Cyprus | Dimokratikos Synagermos [DISY] | DISY has a 30 per cent (30%) gender quota in its candidates for the parliament, municipal and European elections, as well as for the party's internal structures. | |
| Democratic Party | Dimokratikó Kómma [DIKO] | Art. 10.2 Composition: The Central Committee consists of (...) c) Out of 120 elected members, of which at least 20% are women |
* Only political parties represented in parliament are included. When a country has legislated quotas in place, only political parties that have voluntary quotas that exceed the percentage/number of the national quota legislation are presented in this table.
Additional Information
56 members are elected by the Greek-Cypriot community while 24 are elected by the Turkish-Cypriot community (seats currently vacant). (IPU-Parline 2021)
"Cyprus, already among the countries where women account for fewer than one in five members in parliaments, experienced a three per cent drop in representation compared with the 2016 parliamentary elections. Only eight women gained one of the 56 seats in parliament, translating to a female representation of 14 per cent. The decrease was described as a setback for Cyprus by the Gender Equality Commissioner Ioasifina Antoniou who said this will negatively impact social issues decisions." (iKnowPolitics 2021)
Sources
LEGAL SOURCES:
- Constitution of Cyprus (English version)
- Electoral Law of Cyprus 72/1979 (Greek version, amended in 2016)
OTHER SOURCES:
-
Inter-Parliamentary Union, IPU Parline Cyprus
Additional reading
- See the latest updates on Cyprus on iKNOW Politics
- Interparliamentary Union [IPU] - Parline. Cyprus Country Profile
- The Mediterranean Institute of Gender Studies (Pavlou, S.). 2015. The Gender Gap in Women’s Leadership in Cyprus
- Banuelos, M. (May 16, 2021). Organizations and Government Initiatives tackling Women's Rights in Cyprus. [Last Accessed: 2021-10-19]
- Peace Research Institute Oslo [PRIO] Cyprus Centre (Demetriou, O.). 2019. Gender in the Cyprus negotiations.
- Kiliaris, K. (May 29, 2021). Cyprus not closing gender gap in politics. Financial Mirror.
- European Institute for Gender Equality [EIGE]. 2019. Gender Mainstreaming - Cyprus Profile.
- Cyprus Parliament website