Citizens in Turkish Cyprus will vote in a snap election on Sunday to elect new members of the 50-seat Parliament following the resignation of the three-party coalition government.
The parliamentary elections in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) are held every five years, with the latest having been held on Jan. 7, 2018.
The country's Supreme Election Committee announced that a total of 203,792 voters are eligible to cast ballots at 763 polling stations.
There are eight parties running in the election, with 403 candidates contending for parliamentary seats.
Among the 403 candidates, 131 are women, with the youngest born in 1996.
The parties running in the election include the National Unity Party (UBP), Republican Turkish Party (CTP), Communal Democracy Party (TDP), Democrat Party (DP), People's Party (HP), Communal Liberation Party-New Forces (TKP-YG), Rebirth Party (YDP) and Independence Path Party (BY).
The parties must receive at least 5% of the votes to pass the electoral threshold.
The unofficial election results are expected to be announced by the election committee on Sunday night, while the official results will be released at the earliest 24 hours after voting closes.
Election campaigns of the political parties have been overshadowed by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has seen an upsurge of cases in recent days.
Taking into account the decisions of the country's health committee, the TRNC's Supreme Election Committee adopted additional measures for the elections.
Only those who were vaccinated and had the 14-day antigen/PCR test were allowed to participate in the political parties' indoor election meetings.
Parties' rallies in open fields were limited to 150 people.
Moreover, as part of the coronavirus measures, voters will be prohibited from voting without a mask, and they will be provided gloves.
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 top agenda items of all candidates.
Political parties made significant efforts to attract public support by offering their perspectives and visions on different issues.
Former Prime Minister Ersan Saner in October presented the resignation of the National Unity Party (UBP)-Democrat Party (DP)-Rebirth Party (YDP) coalition government to President Ersin Tatar due to quorum issues within Parliament.
In his statement, Saner said quorum issues, developments within the two coalition partner parties and certain problems in government lead to his resignation.
A new coalition government led by Faiz Sucuoğlu took their place for a temporary period.
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 aiming at Greece's annexation led to Turkey's military intervention as a guarantor power to protect Turkish Cypriots from persecution and violence. 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 that Greek Cypriots thwarted the U.N.'s Annan plan to end the decadeslong dispute.
