In the parliamentary elections in the internationally unrecognized Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, the ruling National Unity Party is leading after about a third of the votes have been counted. The party of President Ersin Tatar and Prime Minister Fayez Sokoglu got about 40 percent of the votes counted last night, according to state broadcaster BRT.
The second strongest party on Sunday evening was the Turkish Republican Party (CTP) with about 31 percent of the vote counted. A final preliminary result is expected today.
About 200,000 people were invited to vote. According to Narine Ferdi Shafik, head of the electoral college, the turnout was 58 percent.
The two-state or federal solution
Cyprus has been divided since 1974 after the Greek coup d’état and Turkish military intervention. The northern part of the island is only recognized as a state by Turkey. The Republic of Cyprus, whose government controls the southern part, has been part of the European Union since 2004. The last negotiations to end the division failed in 2017.
Witar and his UBP party are close to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and advocate a two-state solution for the divided island. On the other hand, the cash transfer program supports the goal of the United Nations of forming a federation of two federations with equal political rights.
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