Northern Cyprus - Politics
Mehmet Ali Talat was elected in April 2005 as leader of the Turkish Cypriot community (as the so-called "President of the TRNC"), replacing long-time nationalist leader Rauf Denktash. Talat's political allies in the Republican Turkish Party (CTP) suffered defeat in "parliamentary" elections contested on April 19, 2009 with the formerly opposition National Unity Party (UBP), led by long-time former "Prime Minister" Dervish Eroglu, obtaining 44% of the popular vote and 26 of 50 seats in the "TRNC National Assembly." UBP announced its "governance" program on May 11 and won an initial confidence vote on May 18, 2009.
Dervis Eroglu was elected in April 2010 as leader of the Turkish Cypriot community, replacing Mehmet Ali Talat. The National Unity Party (UBP), previously led by Eroglu, held a majority in the 50-seat “TRNC National Assembly.”
Turkish Cypriot independent Mustafa Akinci swept to victory in presidential elections on 26 April 2015, clinching 60.5 percent of the vote over incumbent conservative Dervis Eroglu. Akinci had pledged to push for a peace deal with Greek Cypriots.
The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus went to polls on Jan. 7, 2018 to elect members of the 50-seat unicameral Republican Assembly. The legislative elections, which produce the ‘assembly’ and the ‘cabinet’ of the unrecognized Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, had been originally set for April 2018, but the ruling parties were forced to relent amid mounting pressure from the opposition and accusations that the ‘government’ no longer enjoyed popular support.
Parliamentary hopefuls were abundant. Elections have become even more important because of the anticipation that once parliamentary elections in the north and presidential elections in Greek Cypriot Southern Cyprus are over there will be a new push for a Cyprus settlement.
The eight parties running in the election are the National Unity Party (UBP) and the Democrat Party (DP), who make up the current coalition government, plus the Republican Turkish Party (CTP), Communal Democracy Party (TDP), Peoples' Party (HP), Communal Liberation Party-New Forces (TKP-YG), Nationalist Democracy Party (MDP), and Renaissance Party (YDP).
The Cyprus problem always played a role in election campaigns of North Cyprus. This time it appeared that the whole election campaign would be dominated by the conundrum. Accused by conservative groups of “surrendering” to Turkiye and the federalists, the Democrat Party (DP) of Serdar Denktas was at risk of falling under the five percent parliamentary threshold. Though it started to pick up, the socialist Republican Turks’ Party (CTP) t is still suffering from the gross mismanagement it engaged in while in government. It has also been going through pains of restructuring around a new leader, Tufan Ergürman. The Peoples’ Party (HP) of Kudret Özersay, a former negotiator under the presidencies of Dervis Eroglu and Mehmet Ali Talat, had been coming in strong in the center-right lane.
Turkish Cypriots voted narrowly for the status quo in the snap parliamentary election, giving the ruling National Union Party 21 seats of 50 in the assembly, enabling it to form a right-wing coalition with the Democratic Party with three seats, and the Rebirth Party, representing mainland settlers, with two seats.
But the 24 seats held by the leftist opposition, the Republican Turkish Party, the People’s Party and the Communal Democracy Party, could undermine coalition policies, rendering a right-wing government unstable and precipitating a fresh election.
In the Jan. 7 snap election, no party won enough votes to rule single-handedly, but Huseyin Ozgurgun's National Unity Party (UBP) got the most votes at 35.6 percent. The UBP won 21 seats in parliament, while the CTP got 12 seats with 17 percent of the vote. In addition, the People's Party (HP) got nine seats, the Communal Democracy Party (TDP) and Democratic Party (DP) three seats each, and the Rebirth Party (YDP) two seats. Twenty-six out of parliament’s 50 seats are needed to form a coalition.
Four Turkish Cypriot political parties on signed a protocol on 01 February 2018 to form a coalition government. The move came two days after Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Mustafa Akinci passed on the mandate to form a government to Republican Turkish Party (CTP) leader Tufan Erhurman, who came second in the Jan. 7 election.
Turkish Cypriot administration and parties reached consensus on postponing 26 April 2020 elections for president of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (and community negotiator in intercommunal negotiations) due to Covid19. New date to be determined. TRNC's 10th presidential elections were scheduled for April 26. Currently, there are seven presidential candidates, including four independents. Lawmakers in northern Cyprus voted to postpone a Turkish Cypriot leadership election scheduled for April 26 by six months because of the coronavirus. The election will now be held on October 11, and dovish incumbent Mustafa Akinci will remain in office in a caretaker capacity until then.
The presidential candidates' stances on federalism became increasingly determinant factors ahead of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) elections on April 26. Incumbent President Mustafa Akinci and leader of the opposition Republican Turk Party (CTP) Tufan Erhürman support the idea of a federal republic, while Renaissance Party (YDP) head Erhan Arikli, Deputy Prime Minister Kudret Özersay and incumbent Prime Minister Ersin Tatar strongly backed a two-state solution on the island.
CTP leader Erhürman said "the conjuncture will not allow the TRNC to be recognized in the international scene.... The people supporting the two-state solution expect all five U.N. Security Council members, all other U.N. members and all 27 EU members to recognize the TRNC. This is not possible in today's political conjuncture, and this way will cause us to live under an unpredictable atmosphere for an indefinite period of time".
Amid a lower turnout than previous years, the first round of presidential elections in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) on 11 October 2020 saw the incumbent President Mustafa Akinci beaten to second place by rival and current Prime Minister Ersin Tatar. Tatar, representing the conservative National Unity Party, won 32.35 percent with the sitting left-leaning president Tatar narrowly behind with 29.84 percent of the vote. With no candidate passing the 50 percent threshold, Turkish Cypriots will go to the polls again on 18 October 2020.
Akinci has promised that he will continue to seek a negotiated solution with his Greek Cypriot counterparts that would see the TRNC becoming part of a federal bi-national state. Tatar, on the other hand, has argued that a federal state with the Greek Cypriot administration is no longer possible after years of negotiations having produced little to no results on a final settlement. A victory for Tatar, says Bozkurt, would also mean better relations and a synchronisation of policies with Ankara, whereas if Akinci was to win, the situation could result in a continuing stasis of relations.
The hardliner who favors even closer ties with Turkiye and a tougher stance with rival Greek Cypriots in peace talks defeated the leftist incumbent in the Turkish Cypriot leadership runoff Sunday. Turkish Cypriot broadcaster BRT said with 100% of the votes counted, Ersin Tatar secured 51.74% of the vote compared to 48.26% for Mustafa Akinci. Tatar benefited from a higher turnout in the runoff, managing to rally supporters from the estimated 200,000-strong electorate who may not have voted in the first round.
The coalition government of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) submitted its resignation to President Ersin Tatar after losing its majority in the parliament. Prime Minister Ersan Saner said: “I submitted my resignation as I observed that the government is no longer sustainable.” The tripartite coalition of UBP, the Democratic Party and the Rebirth Party was approved by President Tatar in December 2020. The resignation of the government came after the three-party coalition lost its majority in the TRNC Parliament.
A right-wing nationalist party won the majority of Turkish Cypriot votes in snap legislative elections in the breakaway northern part of Cyprus, according to the final results released by the election commission 25 January 2022. The National Unity Party (UBP) of right-wing nationalist Ersin Tatar, a close ally of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, won 39.5 percent of the vote, strengthening its presence in the parliament of the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus by taking 24 out of 50 seats.
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