Washington, DC during
Standard Time)
daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last
Sunday in October

Administrative divisions:

6 districts; Famagusta, Kyrenia, Larnaca, Limassol, Nicosia, Paphos;
note - Turkish Cypriot area's administrative divisions include
Kyrenia, all but a small part of Famagusta, and small parts of
Lefkosia (Nicosia)

Independence:

16 August 1960 (from UK); note - Turkish Cypriots proclaimed
self-rule on 13 February 1975 and independence in 1983, but these
proclamations are only recognized by Turkey

National holiday:

Independence Day, 1 October (1960); note - Turkish Cypriots
celebrate 15 November (1983) as Independence Day

Constitution:

16 August 1960
note: from December 1963, the Turkish Cypriots no longer
participated in the government; negotiations to create the basis for
a new or revised constitution to govern the island and for better
relations between Greek and Turkish Cypriots have been held
intermittently since the mid-1960s; in 1975, following the 1974
Turkish intervention, Turkish Cypriots created their own
constitution and governing bodies within the "Turkish Federated
State of Cyprus," which became the "Turkish Republic of Northern
Cyprus (TRNC)" when the Turkish Cypriots declared their independence
in 1983; a new constitution for the "TRNC" passed by referendum on 5
May 1985, although the "TRNC" remains unrecognized by any country
other than Turkey

Legal system:

based on English common law, with civil law modifications; accepts
compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

Suffrage:

18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:

chief of state: President Dimitris CHRISTOFIAS (since 28 February
2008); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of
government; post of vice president is currently vacant; under the
1960 constitution, the post is reserved for a Turkish Cypriot
head of government: President Dimitris CHRISTOFIAS (since 28
February 2008)
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed jointly by the president and
vice president
elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term;
election last held 17 and 24 February 2008 (next to be held in
February 2013)
election results: Dimitris CHRISTOFIAS elected president; percent of
vote (first round) - Ioannis KASOULIDIS 33.5%, Dimitris CHRISTOFIAS
33.3%, Tassos PAPADOPOULOS 31.8%; (second round) Dimitris
CHRISTOFIAS 53.4%, Ioannis KASOULIDIS