Progressive Turkish Cypriot politician Tufan Erhürman won the elections in the occupied part of Cyprus, defeating far-right incumbent Ersin Tatar — who had Ankara’s backing — with 62.8% to 35.8%.
Erhürman opposes the two-state solution and supports the resumption of UN-led talks aimed at reunifying the island.
The scale of Erhürman’s victory, as noted by The Guardian, showed that Turkish Cypriots have grown weary of the isolationist policies that brought the region into ever-closer alignment with Turkey’s ruling party, and are now seeking a turn toward Europe. The community has long protested what it sees as the erosion of its identity under Ankara’s influence.
The last round of Cyprus reunification talks took place in Switzerland in 2017 under UN auspices, but they collapsed.
“Erhürman’s supporters see themselves as an autonomous ethnopolitical community, not as Turks of Cyprus, and they want to remain that way,” said former MEP Niyazi Kızılyürek.
“They voted overwhelmingly for Erhürman because they want their future to be in the European Union,” he added.
Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides welcomed the outcome, saying he looked forward to a meeting between the two sides. Similarly, Greek Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis called Erhürman’s victory “a new chapter of hope and expectation” in the effort to reunify Cyprus.
Sources: Guardian, Kathimerini [1], [2]
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