Democratic Freedom
Freedom House classified the perceived level of democratic and political freedom in Cyprus as "free" in 2011 in its Freedom in the World report. The US Department of State reported in 2010 that the recent elections were free and fair.
Ibrahim Aziz, who was prevented from voting in the elections, applied to the European Court of Human Rights. In 2004, in the case of Aziz v. Cyprus, the ECHR ruled that his right to vote was denied. After this case, the right to vote was given to the Turkish Cypriots residing in the Republic of Cyprus. However, Turkish Cypriots still cannot run in presidential elections and the Turkish Cypriots which reside in Northern Cyprus cannot vote in elections, even though they are citizens of the Republic of Cyprus.
Read more about this topic: Human Rights In Cyprus
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