Turkish Cyprus' coalition government receives vote of confidence
Turkish Cypriot Prime Minister Faiz Sucuoğlu speaks at the parliament in Lefkoşa (Nicosia), TRNC, March 3, 2022. (AA Photo)


The coalition between the National Unity Party (UBP), the Democratic Party (DP) and the Rebirth Party (YDP) in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) received the vote of confidence on Thursday.

In the session held at the parliament, 29 lawmakers voted in favor and 20 voted against the coalition. One lawmaker abstained.

The opposition parties, the Republican Turkish Party (CTP) and the People's Party (HP), voted against the coalition.

Led by Faiz Sucuoğlu, the UBP-DP-YDP coalition was formed on Feb. 21.

Following the January election, Sucuoğlu had been assigned the task of forming a new government by TRNC President Ersin Tatar.

According to election officials, the UBP received 39.54% of votes in the Jan. 23 election, followed by the Republican Turkish Party (CTP) with 32.04%, the DP with 7.41%, the YDP with 6.39% and the People's Party (HP) with 6.68%.

The UBP won 24 seats in the 50-member Parliament, the CTP 18 seats, the DP and HP three seats, respectively, and the YDP two seats.

The island of 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 the United Nations plan to end the longstanding dispute.

While Greece and the Greek Cypriot administration support a federation on Cyprus, Turkey and the TRNC insist on a two-state solution reflecting the realities of the island.