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| Northern Cyprus president Ersin Tatar |
NICOSIA, Jan 25 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The party of President Ersin Tatar and Prime Minister Faiz Sucuoglu, has won the parliamentary election in Northern Cyprus, according to preliminary results on Monday.
The National Unity Party (UBP) was at about 39.5 per cent, state broadcaster BRT reported on Monday, citing the election commission.
The UBP is close to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and is an advocate of a two-state solution for the divided island of Cyprus. It now has 24 of the 50 members in parliament, meaning it fell just short of an absolute majority.
Cyprus has been divided since a Greek coup and Turkish military intervention in 1974.
The southern Greek-speaking half has been an EU member since 2004. Turks rule the north but Turkey is the only country to recognize Northern Cyprus.
The most recent negotiations to overcome the division of the island failed in 2017.
The Republican Turkish Party (CTP) was the second-strongest party with around 32 per cent of the vote. It supports the UN’s goal of forming a federation of two politically equal states.
According to the election commission, voter turnout was around 58 per cent.
The election campaign was dominated by the economy, given the north of the island is internationally isolated and heavily dependent on Turkey. The lira crisis and rising inflation in Turkey are hitting Northern Cypriots hard.
The elections took place a year earlier than planned. Former prime minister Ersan Saner, of the UBP, submitted his resignation in October and called for new elections.
Sucuoglu took over on an interim basis. — NNN-AGENCIES