Northern Cyprus parliamentary election, 2009
Encyclopedia
Parliamentary elections were held in Northern Cyprus on 19 April 2009, a year earlier than necessary. The early election was decided upon by the ruling Republican Turkish Party
. Winning the largest portion of the vote, the National Unity Party won the election, and the party chairman, Derviş Eroğlu
, became Prime Minister.
, the UBP chairman and the Prime Minister, stated, "I am proud that Turkey is our main native country. Thanks to our native country we are living calm and safe." In addition, many Turkish Cypriots celebrated the UBP victory. On the other hand, Greek news agency ANA-MPA
reported "despair has gripped the Republic of Cyprus" following the release of early election results.
Some analysts say that the new parliament could create difficulties for Mehmet Ali Talat
, the peace negotiator for the Turkish Cypriots. With Talat's party gaining slightly fewer seats, "... it is obviously going to limit Talat's ability to act in a lot of ways, you know parliament is going to have a much greater say in all of this and really can tie his hands."
Republican Turkish Party
The Republican Turkish Party is a social democratic political party in the Republic of Cyprus. The party was founded in 1970 by Ahmet Mithat Berberoğlu, a lawyer, in opposition to the leadership of Fazıl Küçük and Rauf Denktaş.In the 1980s, the CTP's political position shifted to the left, to a...
. Winning the largest portion of the vote, the National Unity Party won the election, and the party chairman, Derviş Eroğlu
Dervis Eroglu
Dr. Derviş Eroğlu is the President of the unrecognized Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. He was Prime Minister of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus from 1985 to 1994 and from 1996 to 2004, and leader of the National Unity Party. His party won the general elections in 2009 and Eroğlu...
, became Prime Minister.
Election
171,000 Cypriots were eligible to vote to elect 50 MPs. It has been claimed that of these as many as 100,000 were originally Turkish immigrants. The National Unity Party (UBP) won the election with 44% of the vote. The Republican Turkish Party (CTP) received 29% of the vote. The UBP's strong anti-unification position means that the results are likely to halt UN efforts to reunify Cyprus. However, the UBP stated after its election victory that it wanted the talks to continue. The UBP remains opposed to a federalist solution, however, and prefers a two-state solution; while analysts have stated that the UBP is unlikely to directly work against the talks, it might shore up resentment and opposition if the talks drag on too long or if it considers the outcome to be unfavourable.Reactions
Derviş EroğluDervis Eroglu
Dr. Derviş Eroğlu is the President of the unrecognized Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. He was Prime Minister of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus from 1985 to 1994 and from 1996 to 2004, and leader of the National Unity Party. His party won the general elections in 2009 and Eroğlu...
, the UBP chairman and the Prime Minister, stated, "I am proud that Turkey is our main native country. Thanks to our native country we are living calm and safe." In addition, many Turkish Cypriots celebrated the UBP victory. On the other hand, Greek news agency ANA-MPA
ANA-MPA
The Athens-Macedonian News Agency is a Greece-based news service. It is a public entity anonymous company. It was founded in 2008 as the Athens News Agency - Macedonian Press Agency S.A. , under a presidential decree which merged the Athens News Agency and the Macedonian Press Agency .The...
reported "despair has gripped the Republic of Cyprus" following the release of early election results.
Some analysts say that the new parliament could create difficulties for Mehmet Ali Talat
Mehmet Ali Talat
Mehmet Ali Talat is the former President of the unrecognized Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. He was the leader of the left wing Republican Turkish Party . He became prime minister in 2004, and subsequently won the Presidential election held on 17 April 2005...
, the peace negotiator for the Turkish Cypriots. With Talat's party gaining slightly fewer seats, "... it is obviously going to limit Talat's ability to act in a lot of ways, you know parliament is going to have a much greater say in all of this and really can tie his hands."