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Themes: Right to free elections Zypern

Aziz v. Cyprus  | 2004

Turkish Cypriots win the right to vote

My goal was not just to attain the right to vote for myself, but also to take action in ensuring that Cypriots can live together in a normal state characterised by a contemporary, pluralistic and democratic framework.

Ibrahim Aziz – Photo: Union of Cypriots

Background

Ibrahim Aziz was prevented from voting simply because he was Turkish Cypriot – even though he was a citizen born and raised in Cyprus.

Despite being politically active his whole adult life, Ibrahim had never once been allowed to vote or stand in elections in his own country.

He tried to register to vote for the 2001 Cypriot parliamentary election, but the authorities did not allow him to do so. Ibrahim was told that, under Cyprus’s constitution, members of the Turkish Cypriot community could not be put on the Greek Cypriot electoral register.

Ibrahim took legal action, citing the European Convention on Human Rights in his defence, but Cyprus’s top court rejected his complaint in May 2001.

Judgment of the European Court of Human Rights

The European court ruled that Cyprus had deprived Ibrahim of his right to vote and discriminated against him based on his national origin.

Setting out the relevant historical background, the court noted that Cyprus’s constitution had come into force in 1960 but the participation of Turkish Cypriot MPs had been suspended since 1963. The situation further deteriorated following Turkey’s invasion of northern Cyprus in 1974. This meant that parts of the constitution concerning the political representation of Turkish Cypriots had become unworkable.

Cyprus had left the situation unresolved.

The European court said the Cypriot government would have to comply with the judgment by making reforms to secure Ibrahim’s right to vote.

 

[The Court] observes that the difference in treatment in the present case resulted from the very fact that [Ibrahim] was a Turkish Cypriot.

Judgment of the European Court of Human Rights, September 2004

Follow-up

 

[Ibrahim] Aziz won and I could now exercise my right to vote in the Republic . . . Despite the fact that for many years I neglected looking into whether I could vote . . . I cannot help but make up for lost time now.

Natalie Hami, Turkish Cypriot journalist, writing on a blog post

 

In 2006, Cyprus gave Turkish Cypriots the right to vote and stand in elections.

270 Turkish Cypriots cast their ballot in the 2006 parliamentary election, while one member of the community ran as a candidate.

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