An unofficial referendum on enosis (reunification) with

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

was held in

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ge ...

between 15 and 22 January 1950.Zypern, 22. Januar 1950 : Anschluss an Griechenland
Direct Democracy Only

Greek Cypriots Greek Cypriots or Cypriot Greeks ( el, Ελληνοκύπριοι, Ellinokýprioi, tr, Kıbrıs Rumları) are the ethnic Greek population of Cyprus, forming the island's largest ethnolinguistic community. According to the 2011 census, 659,115 ...

voted, and the proposal was approved by 95.71% of those taking part.

Background

On 12 December 1949, Archbishop Makarios II had called on the British authorities to hold a referendum on the future of the island. After they refused, the Church Council and the Enosis organisation organised a referendum. Signature books were provided in churches between 15 and 22 January 1950. The books had two columns, entitled "We demand union with Greece" and "We are against the union of Cyprus with Greece".

Results

Aftermath

After the referendum, the

Church of Cyprus The Church of Cyprus ( el, Ἐκκλησία τῆς Κύπρου, translit=Ekklisia tis Kyprou; tr, Kıbrıs Kilisesi) is one of the autocephalous Greek Orthodox churches that together with other Eastern Orthodox churches form the communio ...

publicly admonished those who had voted against enosis. In the latter years of British rule in Cyprus, the Church sought to silence dissenting opinion among Greek Cypriots, sometimes by violent means. In February 2017, the Cypriot parliament voted in favour of commemorating the referendum in schools every year. The decision was received negatively by Turkish Cypriot politicians, causing talks between Cypriot President

Nicos Anastasiades Nicos Anastasiades ( el, Νίκος Αναστασιάδης ; born 27 September 1946) is a Cypriot politician who is the current president of Cyprus since 2013. He was re-elected in 2018. Previously, he was the leader of Democratic Rally bet ...

and the Turkish Cypriot leader

Mustafa Akıncı Mustafa Akıncı (; born 28 December 1947) is a Turkish Cypriot politician who was the president of Northern Cyprus from April 2015 until October 2020. An architect by profession, Akıncı in 1976 became the first elected mayor of the Nicosia ...

to be halted.

References

{{Cypriot elections Referendums in Cyprus

Referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...

Cyprus dispute British Cyprus Greek Cypriot nationalism July 1950 events in Europe Sovereignty referendums Megali Idea