The upcoming elections in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) are a referendum to choose between a two-state solution or a federation system, TRNC President Ersin Tatar said Friday.
Speaking to Anadolu Agency (AA), Tatar described Sunday’s elections as a “choice for existence” and said that the main opposition is advocating a federation for the TRNC.
“A two-state solution and my election victory will create the right foundation to ensure stability, achieving economic stability in line with Türkiye and a foundation for development. Therefore, I call on every citizen to go to the polls and express the will of the people with a high participation rate,” he said.
Tatar and Ankara are on the same page regarding talks for the future of the Mediterranean island, defending the TRNC as a separate, sovereign state on the island, with the south recognized by other countries as the Republic of Cyprus.
He elaborated that a two-state solution policy includes sustaining the TRNC as a sovereign state, guarantorship relations with Ankara and the continuation of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) on the island.
In contrast, Tatar said that under a possible federative model, Türkiye’s relations with Turkish Cypriots could gradually change negatively because Ankara is not an EU member. Tatar underlined that such a path could lead to conditions that could force Türkiye to withdraw from the island and revoke its guarantor status, and that efforts to exclude Türkiye from the Eastern Mediterranean would intensify.
Tatar said, "All these possibilities demonstrate the importance of a two-state solution policy."
He reiterated that the two-state solution has been brought to the agenda of the international community thanks to Türkiye within the last five years, while the TRNC has made significant gains, such as becoming an observer member of the Organization of Turkic States.
“What I'll tell my people here is that the president's primary duty is to conduct foreign policy and, at the same time, maintain the best possible relations with Türkiye. I believe I have maintained the best possible relations with Türkiye. I am a president who has visited every region of Türkiye and established excellent relations with Türkiye. We have put the two-state solution policy in front of the global community.”
The island has been mired in a decades-long dispute between Greek and Turkish Cypriots, despite a series of diplomatic efforts by the U.N. 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 led to Türkiye’s military intervention as a guarantor power to protect Turkish Cypriots from persecution and violence.
As a result, the TRNC was founded in 1983. The country is fully recognized only by Türkiye, which does not recognize the Greek Cypriot administration in the south.
The island has seen an on-and-off peace process in recent years, but negotiations have been stalled since 2017.
Meanwhile, eight candidates competing in the first round of the presidential election, scheduled for Sunday in the TRNC, have entered an intense campaign period.
The incumbent Tatar will run as an independent candidate in the first round of the election, while Tufan Erhürman, chair of the main opposition Republican Turkish Party (CTP), will run as his party's candidate.
In the first round of the presidential election, Hüseyin Gürlek, Mehmet Hasgüler, Arif Salih Kırdağ, Ahmet Boran and Ibrahim Yazıcı will run as independent candidates, while Osman Zorba will run as the candidate of the Cyprus Socialist Party.
With the election just days away, the campaigns of the presidential candidates are bustling with activity. Squares in all cities and villages, especially the capital Nicosia, are decorated with posters and banners of the candidates, while advertisements for those participating in the first round are frequently appearing in newspapers, television channels, websites and social media accounts.
