On October 19, elections were held in Northern Cyprus. The Supreme Electoral Commission announced that Tufan Erhürman was elected president.
Erhürman, who is the leader of the Republican Turkish Party, previously served as prime minister. He has been one of the harsh critics of the current president Ersin Tatar's policies.
Erhürman opposes the Turkish government's proposal regarding Northern Cyprus. During his campaign, he stated that if elected, he would restart official negotiations with the Republic of Cyprus, which were suspended in 2017.
Erhürman claims that a two-state solution is not a realistic approach to end the economic and political isolation of Turkish Cypriots.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan congratulated Erhürman on his election as president.
In a statement to Modern.az, **İlhan Üzgel**, foreign policy coordinator of the Republican People's Party (CHP), Turkey's main opposition party, stated that they welcome the elections in Northern Cyprus being held in an atmosphere of high political maturity and culture, as well as the respectful approach to the results:
“For our party, the security, welfare, and prosperity of our Cypriot brothers are of great importance.
For us, the democratic conduct of elections in Northern Cyprus was the main issue. Regardless of who wins, we must respect the will of the Turkish Cypriots.
As a party, we have relations with all parties and politicians in Northern Cyprus. Our chairman, Özgür Özel, has visited Northern Cyprus three times since taking office.”
İlhan Üzgel emphasized that they have relations with the Republican Turkish Party:
“Our chairman and Mr. Tufan Erhürman are close to each other as social-democratic party leaders. However, we have always embraced the Turkish Cypriot people regardless of party differences. We had relations with the previous government, and naturally, we will have contacts with the new government as well.
We hope that this election will contribute to the resolution of the Cyprus problem and bring greater security and prosperity to the Turkish Cypriots.”
After the elections, one of those who made a strong statement from Turkey was Devlet Bahçalı, chairman of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP). D. Bahçalı viewed the results of the elections in Northern Cyprus with skepticism.
He stated that voter turnout in the election held in Northern Cyprus was very low.
"The fate of the Turkish Cypriot community cannot be represented with such low turnout. Even if the election results are announced by the election board, the Northern Cyprus parliament must convene urgently, declare the election results and the return to a federation unacceptable, and decide to join the Republic of Turkey," the party chairman noted.
