The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Ersin Tatar on Tuesday underlined the importance of a long-lasting parliament and government as the country held snap elections to form the new parliament on Sunday.
Tatar received the leaders and representatives of political parties which gained the right to be represented in parliament.
He stated after his meeting with the heads of political parties and the attorney general that he would give the mandate to form the government after the Supreme Election Board (YSK) approves the newly elected deputies as well as holding the swearing-in ceremony.
Stating that the election bans will continue until the new government is formed, Tatar stated that the current prime minister, Faiz Sucuoğlu, will submit his resignation after the swearing-in ceremony and he will be handed a temporary assignment until the new government is formed.
Stressing that the election process was evaluated with the party leaders, Tatar stated that meetings were held with the party leaders and their delegations to speed up the process.
Tatar pointed out that the government, which can start work after the swearing-in ceremony, should receive a vote of confidence from the newly elected TRNC Parliament, and stated that the current government and the TRNC Parliament are still in office.
President Tatar thanked everyone who participated in the election and added that despite the low turnout, the Turkish Cypriot people showed their will.
In his statement, Tatar pointed out that the new government is responsible for overcoming problems facing the country with the support of Turkey, and stated that he hopes the new government will be established as soon as possible.
In his initial reaction after the elections, Tatar had said that the results of the recent elections in Turkish Cyprus show that "our ties with Ankara, our stance regarding the Cyprus issue and my politics have gained support."
The ruling National Unity Party (UBP) is ahead in the Turkish Cyprus early elections with 39.54% of the votes in favor, according to preliminary results on Monday.
The ruling party is followed by the Republican Turkish Party (CTP) with 32.04%, the Democrat Party (DP) with 7.41%, the Rebirth Party (YDP) with 6.39% and the People's Party (HP) with 6.68%.
With the current standings, the UBP gets 24 seats, the CTP 18, DP three, the HP three and the YDP two in the 50-member parliament. Compared to the previous election, the UBP increased their number of seats by three, the number of seats of the CTP increased by 50%, while the HP decreased from nine deputies to three deputies.
Election campaigns of the political parties have been overshadowed by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has seen an upsurge of cases in recent days.
The economy was a key topic of speeches by the candidates during the TRNC's snap parliamentary election campaign. Due to the pandemic, political parties presented their vision to voters on health issues as well as future economic goals, which were the top agenda items of all candidates.
Political parties made significant efforts to attract public support by offering their perspectives and visions on different issues.
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. Sucuoğlu took over on an interim basis.
Cyprus has been mired in a decadeslong dispute between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, despite a series of diplomatic efforts by the United Nations to achieve a comprehensive settlement.
Ethnic attacks starting in the early 1960s forced Turkish Cypriots to withdraw into enclaves for their safety.
In 1974, a Greek Cypriot coup aimed at Greece's annexation of the island led to Turkey’s military intervention as a guarantor power to protect Turkish Cypriots from persecution and violence. As a result, the TRNC was founded in 1983.
It has seen an on-and-off peace process in recent years, including a failed 2017 initiative in Switzerland under the auspices of guarantor countries Turkey, Greece and the United Kingdom.
The Greek Cypriot administration entered the European Union in 2004, the same year Greek Cypriots thwarted a United Nations plan to end the longstanding dispute.
