NICOSIA, April 17: Turkish Cypriots reiterated their support on Sunday for moves to reunite the ethnically divided island, electing pro-settlement leader Mehmet Ali Talat as president to replace outgoing hawk Rauf Denktash.
With more than 90 per cent of ballot boxes counted, official results showed prime minister Talat well clear on 55 per cent compared to 23 percent for his nearest rival, Dervis Eroglu — enough to clinch outright victory without a second round.
“Today is a turning point,” Mr Talat said earlier after casting his vote at a school in the coastal town of Kyrenia. “We have to solve the Cyprus problem. We have to do this with the Greek Cypriot community.”
Turkey, the only country to recognize the self-declared Turkish Cypriot state in the north of the island, has a major stake in the outcome as Ankara fears lack of progress on peace moves could hamper its own bid to start European Union entry talks in October.
Denktash, like Eroglu a strong opponent of a UN peace blueprint for the Mediterranean island, is retiring after more than 30 years at the helm of the breakaway enclave.
Nine candidates stood to succeed him, but campaigning was low-key with only Talat’s Republican Turkish Party holding rallies — a sharp contrast to the feverish atmosphere 12 months ago for an island-wide referendum on the UN plan.
Mr Talat had said he was confident his support would echo the result of the referendum in the north, where two-thirds of voters said ‘yes’ to the plan for a united, federal Cyprus.
The blueprint was scuppered by the Greek Cypriots, who voted overwhelmingly against it, although diplomats say it remains the only realistic basis for further negotiations.
Polling was slow but steady in the tiny enclave of 200,000 people, with voter fatigue creeping in after two parliamentary elections as well as the referendum in the past 18 months.
Turnout was about 70 per cent. Diplomats say fresh peace initiatives are likely to stir once the Turkish Cypriot election is out of the way.
But with hardline nationalist Denktash sidelined it is now Greek Cypriot President Tassos Papadopoulos who is widely seen as the main barrier to a settlement.—Reuters
