The reunification candidate Tufan Erhurman won a landslide victory in the election of the leader of the Turkish Cypriots, ending a five-year period during which negotiations on a federal solution to the Cyprus problem were frozen.

The 55-year-old law professor and leader of the center-left Republican Turkish Party (CTP) received 62.8% of the vote, significantly surpassing the incumbent leader, Ersin Tatar, who received 35.8%.

Erhurman will become the new leader of the Turkish Cypriots at the end of the week. According to the current rules, he will have to resign from his position as party leader, as it is forbidden for leaders to hold political positions simultaneously.

Erhurman’s victory marks a turning point in Turkish Cypriot politics, as he advocates for the resumption of negotiations on the federal model, which has been approved by the United Nations and the international community.

During the election campaign, Erhürman promised that his first visit after taking office would be to Ankara, where he plans to meet with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and other Turkish officials. This move is considered particularly important given that a significant portion of the Turkish political establishment actively supported his rival, Ersin Tatara.

After his visit to Ankara, Erhurman is expected to meet with the new UN High Representative, Hassim Diagne, as well as with Envoy Maria Angela Olgin, on the island. These meetings will serve as preparation for the third extended meeting on the Cyprus issue this year, which will take place in New York at the end of the month.

It will be attended by representatives from both communities in Cyprus, as well as the three guarantor countries — Greece, Turkey, and the United Kingdom — and the United Nations.

Political observers note that Erhurman’s election could revive the negotiation process and return the Cyprus issue to the framework of international dialogue based on the principles of a unified federal state.

Source: cyprus-mail.com

https://cyprusbutterfly.com.cy/news/tufan-erxurman-izbran-novyim-liderom