Turk Cypriot moderate wins election in major policy shift in conflict
NICOSIA (Reuters) – A moderate candidate won the Turkish Cypriot presidential election on Sunday, defeating a conservative candidate in a crucial vote; this could help revive stalled UN negotiations on the reunification of Cyprus.
Centre-left politician Tufan Erhurman sailed to victory, winning 62.8% of the votes of just over 218,000 registered voters, defeating incumbent Ersin Tatar on a platform of reviving negotiations with separated Greek Cypriots over the future of Cyprus.
Lawyer Erhurman has vowed to find a federal solution, long backed by the United Nations, to end the island’s nearly 50-year division.
Türkiye, the only country that recognized Tatar and Northern Cyprus, supported the two-state policy rejected by Greek Cypriots. Tatar, who came to power in 2020, received 35.8 percent of the votes.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan congratulated Erhürman on his victory and praised the vote as a reflection of the democratic maturity of Turkish Cypriots.
In his post on the X channel, Erdogan said, “We will continue to defend the sovereign rights and interests of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus on every platform together with our Turkish Cypriot brothers.” he said.
Greek Cypriot President and Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Christodoulides also congratulated Erhurman and said that he was determined to restart peace talks.
Cyprus was divided in 1974 by a Turkish invasion triggered by a brief Greek-backed coup that followed sporadic fighting following the collapse of the power-sharing administration in 1963. Northern Cyprus was declared in 1983 and peace talks have been stalled since 2017.
The President of Northern Cyprus has been tasked with representing the Turkish Cypriot community in negotiations with the Greek Cypriots, who represent Cyprus in the European Union and have a say in Türkiye’s desires to join the bloc.
Mehmet Ali Talat, Turkish Cypriot leader from 2005 to 2010, said Ankara could adapt its approach to the idea of a two-state agreement.
“Can it change? I believe so. It depends on what Türkiye can get out of the solution,” Talat said in an interview with the Greek Cypriot newspaper Politis published on Sunday. he said.
(Writing by Michele Kambaş; additional reporting by Ezgi Erkoyun and Tuvan Gümrükçü; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Philippa Fletcher)
