Voters in
the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus will elect a president on
Sunday. The new leader will then be tasked with representing them in
reunification talks on the divided island.
Deutsche Welle, 19 April 2015
Polling
stations opened on the divided island at 8:00 a.m. local time (0500 UTC), with
about 176,000 people eligible to vote in northern Cyprus, which occupies almost
one third of the Mediterranean island and is only recognized by Turkey.
Opinion
polls put incumbent Dervis Eroglu in the lead ahead of the six other
candidates, but the conservative is not tipped to win the required 50 percent
of vote in Sunday's first round, paving the way for a run-off election with his
nearest rival on April 26.
Sunday's
election will determine who sits opposite Greek Cypriot President Nicos
Anastasiades in talks to help re-unify the divided island which are expected to
resume next month.
Only Turkey
recognizes northern Cyprus as an independent state and Ankara to funds
one-third of its annual budget. The international community recognizes the
Greek Cypriot government as the whole island's legitimate government.
"Presidential
elections have always given a clear indication of the Turkish Cypriot
community's view on the Cyprus problem. This time however it might be
different," sociologist Kudret Akay said.
"In
recent years the Turkish Cypriots' attitude has hardened as a result of
perceived Greek Cypriot intransigence in negotiations, a view most closely
represented by Dervis Eroglu," he added.
Just after
casting his vote at a polling station in Nicosia, 47-year-old Halil Davulcu
told reporters that, "nobody recognizes Turkish Cypriot identity, there is
a Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, but nobody recognizes it.
"Maybe
if this problem is solved then our identity will become known," Davulcu
added.
Aside from
Eroglu, Sibel Siber, the sole female candidate, head of parliament and former
prime minister and independent Mustafa Akinci, are the incumbent's main
challengers.
Cyprus has
been divided since 1974 after a Turkish military invasion, which followed a
short-lived Greek-inspired coup. About 1,000 peacekeepers monitor a ceasefire
line that divides Nicosia, Europe's last divided capital.
Cyprus
joined the European Union in 2004 still a divided island, and although the
north is technically a member of the bloc, Turkish Cypriots are denied almost
all the rights and responsibilities associated with EU membership.
Preliminary
election results are expected on Sunday night.
jlw/sms (Reuters, AP, AFP, dpa)
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