Northern Cyprus election: Key party announces support for incumbent president

Tufan Erhürman and Mustafa Akıncı (Photo: AA/File)

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Northern Cyprus' Republican Turkish Party (CTP) has announced support for Mustafa Akıncı, the incumbent president, in the election on Sunday (October 18).

In the first round of the presidential election, PM and National Unity Party (UBP) Chair Ersin Tatar got the highest share of votes with 32.3 percent. President Akıncı got 29,8 percent of the votes as an independent candidate CTP Chair Tufan Erhürman got 21.6 percent of the votes.

Tatar and Akıncı will compete in Sunday's election.

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In a written statement, CTP urged all sides to reduce the political tension in the country and called on the people to cast votes.

The party announced that it would support Akıncı because he suited the party's principles, including a comprehensive solution of the Cyprus issue "on a federal basis."

The will of the people of Northern Cyprus in favor of a solution provides the legitimate basis for its demand for the lift of restrictions and opening up to the world, the statement noted.

Turkey's position

While Turkey, the only state that recognizes Northern Cyprus as a sovereign state, has not declared support for any candidate, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's meeting with PM Tatar in Ankara, Turkey's capital, was criticized by the opposition.

During the ceremony of the reopening of a water pipeline between Turkey and Cyprus on October 8, three days before the first round of the election, Tatar announced that Northern Cyprus would reopen Varosha (Maraş), a town that was abandoned after the 1974 war upon a UNSC resolution.

As well as the opposition, Tatar's coalition partner, the People's Party (HP), criticized the meeting as an "interference in the election" and announced its withdrawal from the government on October 7. (EKN/VK)