In an election that could shape the future of the Turkish Cypriot community – and possibly that of Cyprus as a whole – the Turkish Cypriot people have elected their new leader. Liberal Tufan Erhurman, 55, is supported by the leftist CTP party, smaller progressive parties and trade unions. He won over his opponent, outgoing “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus” (TRNC) President Ersin Tatar, winning 62.8% of the vote against Tatar’s 35.5%.
This is the largest electoral victory in the history of Turkish Cypriot elections since the era of Rauf Denktaş, their historical leader and founder of the self-declared state, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), recognized only by Turkey.
Accordingly, Sunday’s victory was celebrated, with thousands of Turkish Cypriots taking to the streets of North Nicosia to hear Tufan Erhurman’s promise of change – accompanied, not coincidentally, by the sound of the traditional Cypriot song “Tiliriotissa”.
Message of federation and identity
Speaking to DW, academic and former member of the European Parliament Niyazi Kizilyurek said that “Tufan Erhurman’s sweeping victory sends a clear political message about the willingness of the majority of the Turkish Cypriot community to return to the negotiating table for a solution to the Cyprus problem.”
Kizilyurek is referring to the division into Greek Cypriots in the south of the island and Turkish Cypriots in the north since the Turkish military intervention in 1974, following intercommunal violence in the 1960s.
Indeed, Erhurmann campaigned on a platform of returning to negotiations based on UN resolutions. He criticized the policy of the Tatars and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is attempting to achieve a two-state solution in Cyprus, which has hit an impasse.
According to Kızılürek, Erhurman’s electoral victory sends a clear message about redefining relations between Turkish Cypriots and Ankara, especially with regard to Erdoğan’s AK-Party (AKP) policy of imposing political Islam on the community.
Protection of secularism of Turkish Cypriots
Erhurman ran for the “presidency” with the aim of preserving the secularism of Turkish Cypriots and the visibility of their Cypriot identity, condemning the outgoing Ersin Tatar’s tolerance towards Turkish attempts to establish political Islam in Turkish Cypriot society.
“The Turkish Cypriot community does not accept outside interference,” Kizilurek explained, “The Turkish Cypriot community is the most secular Muslim community in the world, and secularism is part of its identity.”
Referring to the protests that broke out in April when the Tatar government, under the guidance of the Turkish Embassy, moved to legalize the wearing of headscarves in Cyprus’ schools, Kizilurek said that “Tatar lost because it decided to align itself with Ankara on this issue, unlike Tufan Erhurman, who was present at all the demonstrations against the hijab.”
Positive developments for Greek Cypriot leadership
New dynamics within the Turkish Cypriot community are expected to trigger developments regarding the Cyprus negotiations, which have been “frozen” for seven years. The Greek Cypriot representative at the talks, President of the Republic of Cyprus Nicos Christodoulides, congratulated the new Turkish Cypriot leader and said he looked forward to “a meeting with Mr. Erhurman as soon as possible and the start of concrete negotiations from the point where he was suspended.”
Christodoulides named the upcoming informal exploratory meeting announced for next month by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres as an important opportunity to restart the process. The leaders of the Republic of Cyprus’s two main parties, Anita Demetriou and Stefanos Stefanou, also hailed Erhurman’s election as a development that could open the way to resuming negotiations. The right-wing Greek Cypriot premier and the left-wing Greek Cypriot secretary general both said Turkish Cypriots rejected a two-state solution and supported a federation, expressing hope for renewed talks.
Speaking to DW, Erato Kozakou-Markoulis, former foreign minister of the Republic of Cyprus, said Erhurman’s election alone cannot resolve the Cyprus issue.
“Undoubtedly, this is a seismic shift in the stance of the Turkish Cypriot side, which has been inflexible in its pursuit of an ultimate two-state solution over the past five years,” he said. “Now, we have to see how and under what conditions Turkey can be persuaded to change its position. This will also largely depend on the stance of the Greek Cypriot side, and whether the announcement they have made regarding the continuation of negotiations from the point at which they stopped negotiations will be translated into action.”
Awaiting Ankara’s response
At the moment, Erdogan’s stance after Erhurman’s victory is unclear. In his first statement after the results were announced, Erdogan avoided mentioning the Cyprus issue, only praising “the democratic maturity of Turkish Cypriots” and expressing hope that “these elections will be beneficial for both Turkey and the TRNC.”
The response from Devlet Bahceli, a partner in Turkey’s ruling coalition, was less restrained, calling on the “TRNC” parliament dominated by the nationalist right to “immediately convene, declare a return to a federal solution unacceptable and take a decision on joining the Republic of Turkey.”
Such development is not expected. Instead, early elections for a new parliament appear more likely.
Edited by: Carla Bleiker