Erdogan suffers defeat: Northern Cyprus is about to change direction

The incumbent supported by Erdogan in the presidential election in Northern Cyprus has been voted out. The Turkish ruler admitted defeat.

Change of power in internationally unrecognized Northern Cyprus: Tufan Erhürman from the social democratic party CHP clearly won the presidential election in the first round. According to the electoral authority YSK, the opposition politician received around 62.8 percent of the vote – thus exceeding the necessary absolute majority.

The previous president, the conservative hardliner Ersin Tatar, who is close to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, only received around 35.8 percent of the vote. A runoff election is therefore not necessary. Voter turnout was around 65 percent. Erhürman said, to applause from his supporters, that as president he would be there for everyone.

Erhürman stands for a federal solution to the Cyprus conflict mediated by the United Nations. He had announced that he wanted to resume talks with the Greek Cypriot side – with the aim of achieving a fair distribution of power between the two ethnic groups. He is also striving for a closer connection between Northern Cyprus and the European Union. “Every corner of this island will be Europe,” he said during the election campaign.

Cyprus has been de facto divided since 1974 following a Greek coup and Turkish military intervention. The entire island has been a member of the EU since 2004. However, due to the de facto division of the island, EU law only applies in the south. UN peacekeepers monitor the approximately 180 kilometer long buffer zone between the two sides. Nicosia is the only divided capital in the world.

The President of the internationally recognized Republic of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulides, congratulated the election winner in the evening. “I extend my congratulations to the new leader of the Turkish Cypriot ethnic group,” Christodoulides said in a statement. “I reiterate my firm political will and determination to continue contributing to the resumption of substantive negotiations to resolve the Cyprus issue,” he added, as reported by Cyprus Radio (RIK).

Before the vote, observers had spoken of a fateful election for the Turkish Cypriot ethnic group. While a Tatar election victory would have cemented the political isolation of the north, Erhürman’s victory will now bring new diplomatic dynamics.