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Presidential elections were held in
Northern Cyprus Northern Cyprus ( tr, Kuzey Kıbrıs), officially the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC; tr, Kuzey Kıbrıs Türk Cumhuriyeti, ''KKTC''), is a ''de facto'' state that comprises the northeastern portion of the Geography of Cyprus, isl ...
in April 2015.Turkish Cypriot leader announces candidacy for 2015 election
Hurriyet, 28 November 2014
In the first round, held on 19 April 2015, the incumbent president independent candidate
Derviş Eroğlu Derviş Eroğlu (born 7 March 1938) is a Turkish Cypriot politician, who served as the president of Northern Cyprus from 2010Mustafa Akıncı Mustafa Akıncı (; born 28 December 1947) is a Turkish Cypriot politician who was the president of Northern Cyprus from April 2015 until October 2020. An architect by profession, Akıncı in 1976 became the first elected mayor of the Nicosia ...
progressed to the second round. The second round took place on 26 April 2015 and was won by Akıncı. The results of the election were considered to be a major upset of power by the mainstream Turkish Cypriot media. The other major candidates of the election, who failed to progress to the second round were
Sibel Siber Sibel Siber (born 13 December 1960) is a Turkish Cypriot politician. She served as the Prime Minister of Northern Cyprus between 13 June 2013, following the fall of the government of İrsen Küçük in a vote of no confidence, and 2 September 201 ...
, the candidate of the
Republican Turkish Party The Republican Turkish Party ( tr, Cumhuriyetçi Türk Partisi, CTP) is a social-democratic political party in Northern Cyprus. The party was founded in 1970 by Ahmet Mithat Berberoğlu, a lawyer, in opposition to the leadership of Fazıl Küçü ...
, which headed the government at the time of the election, and
Kudret Özersay Kudret Özersay (born 16 December 1973) is a Turkish Cypriot academic, diplomat and politician. A scholar in international politics by profession, he served in the negotiations to solve the Cyprus dispute between 2002 and 2012 and in 2014. He was ...
, an independent candidate with no political history. Siber's failure to progress to the second round led to shock and controversy in her party and Prime Minister Özkan Yorgancıoğlu announced that he would be stepping down in the upcoming party congress. Özersay's share of the votes was seen as a major surprise success. Eroğlu announced his withdrawal from political life following the election.


Electoral system

The
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
is elected using the
two-round system The two-round system (TRS), also known as runoff voting, second ballot, or ballotage, is a voting method used to elect a single candidate, where voters cast a single vote for their preferred candidate. It generally ensures a majoritarian resul ...
: as no candidate received a majority in the first round, a run-off was held seven days later. The role of the president is not symbolic: the President has a role in the executive branch of the government and represents Northern Cyprus in international politics, especially regarding the
Cyprus dispute The Cyprus problem, also known as the Cyprus dispute, Cyprus issue, Cyprus question or Cyprus conflict, is an ongoing dispute between Greek Cypriots in the south and Turkish Cypriots in the north. Initially, with the Modern history of Cyprus#In ...
and the peace talks.


Candidates

*
Derviş Eroğlu Derviş Eroğlu (born 7 March 1938) is a Turkish Cypriot politician, who served as the president of Northern Cyprus from 2010President of Northern Cyprus The president of Northern Cyprus is the head of state of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. Rauf Denktaş was the first and founding president of Northern Cyprus, and retired in 2005. His position was taken over by Mehmet Ali Talat, follow ...
; independent candidate, supported by the
National Unity Party The National Unity Party, National United Party, Party of National Unity or National Unity Front may refer to: * National United Party of Afghanistan (founded 2003) * National Unity Party (Albania) * National United Party (Armenia), defunct * Natio ...
and the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...
*
Sibel Siber Sibel Siber (born 13 December 1960) is a Turkish Cypriot politician. She served as the Prime Minister of Northern Cyprus between 13 June 2013, following the fall of the government of İrsen Küçük in a vote of no confidence, and 2 September 201 ...
– Speaker of the TRNC Parliament and candidate of the
Republican Turkish Party The Republican Turkish Party ( tr, Cumhuriyetçi Türk Partisi, CTP) is a social-democratic political party in Northern Cyprus. The party was founded in 1970 by Ahmet Mithat Berberoğlu, a lawyer, in opposition to the leadership of Fazıl Küçü ...
*
Mustafa Akıncı Mustafa Akıncı (; born 28 December 1947) is a Turkish Cypriot politician who was the president of Northern Cyprus from April 2015 until October 2020. An architect by profession, Akıncı in 1976 became the first elected mayor of the Nicosia ...
– Independent candidate,Presidential polls in north Cyprus
Hurriyet, 1 October 2014
supported by the
Communal Democracy Party The Communal Democracy Party ( tr, Toplumcu Demokrasi Partisi, TDP) is a social-democratic political party in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. The party came into being in May 2007 as a merger of the Peace and Democracy Movement with the Co ...
and the
United Cyprus Party The United Cyprus Party (Turkish language, Turkish: ''Birleşik Kıbrıs Partisi'', BKP) is a Left-wing politics, left-wing, Socialism, socialist party in Northern Cyprus. The party was founded in 2003 by İzzet İzcan. It supports the idea of a fr ...
*
Kudret Özersay Kudret Özersay (born 16 December 1973) is a Turkish Cypriot academic, diplomat and politician. A scholar in international politics by profession, he served in the negotiations to solve the Cyprus dispute between 2002 and 2012 and in 2014. He was ...
– Independent candidate *Mustafa Onurer –
Cyprus Socialist Party Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...
candidate *Arif Salih Kırdağ – Independent *Mustafa Ulaş – Independent


Campaign


Akıncı

Akıncı, who ran as an independent, is a member of the pro-Union
Communal Democracy Party The Communal Democracy Party ( tr, Toplumcu Demokrasi Partisi, TDP) is a social-democratic political party in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. The party came into being in May 2007 as a merger of the Peace and Democracy Movement with the Co ...
. He is described as a "leftist moderate" who would "push harder for a peace deal". In terms of the specific negotiations, he stated that he would oppose "submissiveness" on the Turkish Cypriot side in the Turkish-Turkish Cypriot relations and said that the relationship should be "fraternal" and that the Turkish Cypriots should be able to "stand up on their own feet". Akıncı promised a vision about the ghost town of Varosha favoring a settlement to the issue by saying, "Instead of living side by side a corpse let Varosha become a lively city where people live, contractors from both communities do business together and young people can find jobs". He proposed and endorsed formulas to enable Turkish Cypriot participation in international sports events, projects to establish a common mobile phone network on both sides of Cyprus, opening of checkpoints in
Lefka Lefka ( el, Λεύκα; tr, Lefke) is a town in Cyprus, overlooking Morphou Bay. It is under the ''de facto'' control of Northern Cyprus. In 2011, the town proper had 3,009 inhabitants. It is the capital of the Lefke District of Northern Cyprus ...
(Aplıç) and
Famagusta Famagusta ( , ; el, Αμμόχωστος, Ammóchostos, ; tr, Gazimağusa or ) is a city on the east coast of Geography of Cyprus, Cyprus. It is located east of Nicosia District, Nicosia and possesses the deepest harbour of the island. Duri ...
(Derinya) and continuation of bi-communal projects of renovation of historical places. Regarding his vision for Varosha, he elaborated that the quarter should be opened to public under United Nations administration in a way that would "benefit both communities". He expressed his vehement opposition to any discrimination against LGBT individuals. He also promised to bring women to the table of negotiations if he elected, and said that communal gender equality should be a "way of life". Akıncı held his Nicosia rally on 14 April. The rally was attended by "thousands" and was "marked by spaces reserved for the elderly and the disabled", according to news reports. Akıncı refuted the proposition that change should be brought about by youths or women, claiming that change comes with ideas, and said that the neutrality of a president should not be perceived as a lack of principles. Upon Akıncı's progression to the second round, the Republican Turkish Party, headed by Prime Minister Özkan Yorgancıoğlu, announced that they would endorse him.


Eroğlu

Eroğlu began his election campaign on 28 February 2015, in a rally of thousands of supporters in the Atatürk Sports Hall in
North Nicosia North Nicosia or Northern Nicosia ( tr, Kuzey Lefkoşa ; el, Βόρεια Λευκωσία) is the capital and largest city of the ''de facto'' state of Northern Cyprus. It is the northern part of the divided city of Nicosia, and is governed b ...
.
Serdar Denktaş Serdar Denktaş is son of Rauf Denktaş, the former President of the de facto Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. He was the Minister of Finance of Northern Cyprus from April 2016 to May 2019. His previous portfolios include Labour, Settlement ...
of the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...
was also present at the rally, signifying his party's support for Eroğlu. Eroğlu put his aim in the election at 55%, promised to follow the path drawn by
Rauf Denktaş Rauf Raif Denktaş (27 January 1924 – 13 January 2012) was a Turkish Cypriot politician, barrister and jurist who served as the founding president of Northern Cyprus. He occupied this position as the president of the Turkish Republic of North ...
, the founder of Northern Cyprus, claimed that his previous five years of presidency were successful and that he would strive to keep Turkey's guarantee on Cyprus. He also said that he would not allow anyone to "differentiate one TRNC citizen from the other". At the beginning of March, Eroğlu claimed that his experience in politics since 1976, his trustworthiness and belief in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus as a state made him an ideal candidate. He claimed that it was an election "unlike any other", but that there was actually peace in Cyprus and that what is needed is a treaty to finalize it. He promised to solve the Cyprus dispute within two years of his re-election. Eroğlu pointed out to his establishment of a People's Council to receive public opinion regarding the Cyprus problem, and promised the establishment of a Women's Council and a Youth Council to gather public opinion not only about the negotiations, but also about other communal issues. However, he stated that he did not think that the lack of representation of women as negotiators had been a factor in the lack of solution in Cyprus, and blamed the Greek Cypriot side as a "block" against a fair solution. He claimed that the Greek Cypriots did not approach a fair solution because they wanted to keep "abusing" the title of the Republic of Cyprus that they "usurped" unilaterally. On 13 March, Eroğlu made his official application for presidency as an independent candidate and was declared a provisional candidate by the High Election Committee, with his official candidacy declared on 23 March. Eroğlu stated that the aim of his candidacy was to find a final settlement for the Cyprus dispute, for which he claimed that the next two years would be crucial. He announced that his aim was to win the election without a runoff. Eroğlu held his
Famagusta Famagusta ( , ; el, Αμμόχωστος, Ammóchostos, ; tr, Gazimağusa or ) is a city on the east coast of Geography of Cyprus, Cyprus. It is located east of Nicosia District, Nicosia and possesses the deepest harbour of the island. Duri ...
rally in the
Namık Kemal Square Namik or Namık is a masculine given name. Notable people with the name include: * Namig Abdullayev (born 1971), Azerbaijani wrestler * Namik Dokle (born 1946), Albanian politician * Namık Gedik (1911–1960), Turkish physician and politician * ...
on 15 April; the rally was attended by people from Famagusta,
İskele Trikomo ( el, Τρίκωμο; Turkish: ''Yeni İskele'') is a town in North-Eastern Mesaoria in Cyprus. It is under the de facto control of Northern Cyprus and is the administrative center of the İskele District of Northern Cyprus. It gained mun ...
and the
Karpass Peninsula The Karpas Peninsula ( el, Καρπασία; tr, Karpaz), also known as the Karpass, Karpaz or Karpasia, is a long, finger-like peninsula that is one of the most prominent geographical features of the island of Cyprus. Its farthest extent is C ...
. He attacked other candidates regarding the issue of Varosha, saying that opening the area under Turkish Cypriot jurisdiction would end the negotiations, and opening the area under the United Nations would amount to "handing over Famagusta". His Nicosia rally was held on 17 April in the
Sarayönü Square Sarayönü ( el, Πλατεία του Σεραγίου), officially Atatürk Square ( tr, Atatürk Meydanı; el, Πλατεία Ατατούρκ, links=no), is a square in North Nicosia. It is the centre of the Turkish part of the city and was ...
. The rally was attended by "thousands" who came from Nicosia,
Morphou Morphou ( el, Μόρφου; tr, Omorfo or ) is a town in the northwestern part of Cyprus, under the ''de facto'' control of Northern Cyprus. It is the administrative center of the Güzelyurt District of Northern Cyprus. Having been a predominantl ...
and
Kyrenia Kyrenia ( el, Κερύνεια ; tr, Girne ) is a city on the northern coast of Cyprus, noted for its historic harbour and castle. It is under the ''de facto'' control of Northern Cyprus. While there is evidence showing that the wider region ...
, and Eroğlu said that "the victory
ould Ould is an English surname and an Arabic name ( ar, ولد). In some Arabic dialects, particularly Hassaniya Arabic, ولد‎ (the patronymic, meaning "son of") is transliterated as Ould. Most Mauritanians have patronymic surnames. Notable p ...
belong to those who believe in the TRNC, in freedom and in sovereignty". He said that he was asking for duty "one last time".


Siber

Sibel Siber, who would have been the first ever woman President of Northern Cyprus if elected, stated on 23 February that, if elected, she would ensure the recommencement of the negotiations to solve the Cyprus dispute. She promised that "working desks" would be formed in the presidency to solve the problems in the Turkish Cypriot community, and that she saw the president as a figure who must be actively involved in communal affairs. She referred to her previous term as the prime minister, claiming that she would pursue the same policy of openness, transparency and trust that she did during her term as prime minister. On 13 March, Siber made her official application for presidency as the candidate of the Republican Turkish Party (CTP) and was declared a provisional candidate by the High Election Committee, with her official candidacy declared on 23 March. On the same day, the head of women's branch of the CTP called Siber "the first female candidate close to winning the election" and called for Turkish Cypriot women to unite behind her. On 17 April, Siber held her Nicosia rally in the İnönü Square. She told that if she was elected, the country would "head towards a common future", including those that had been displaced from the south and had come from the Turkish mainland after 1974, and that "the outdated mentality would become history". Prime Minister Özkan Yorgancıoğlu, former president
Mehmet Ali Talat Mehmet Ali Talat (born 6 July 1952) is a Turkish Cypriot politician who served as the president of Northern Cyprus from 2005 to 2010. Talat was the leader of the social democratic Republican Turkish Party ( tr, Cumhuriyetçi Türk Partisi, CTP), ...
and former prime minister
Ferdi Sabit Soyer Ferdi Sabit Soyer (; born March 5, 1952) is a former Prime Minister of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, and former Leader of Republican Turkish Party (CTP). Soyer, a former union leader, has been a member of the TRNC parliament since 1985 ...
also spoke in the rally, and Talat claimed that they would win the election in the first round.


Özersay

During his campaign, Özersay promised that if elected president, he would not only follow an active diplomatic policy in the negotiations, but also combat the "rife partisanship and nepotism" in politics, which he claimed was a role neglected using the peace process as a pretext. He claimed that the public had "disowned state institutions due to injustice" and that he would be scrupulous in allowing assignments of public officials to "start solving the problems". Upon his failure to progress to the second round, Özersay made a statement claiming that he had been the subject of a campaign of defamation during the campaign, and that polls were manipulated against him. He stated that he had not even called for citizens to vote for him, but rather to "choose for themselves" and thus announced that he would not endorse any other candidate in the second round. He said that this would not be his last election, but that he would not establish a political party.


Opinion polls

A March 2015 survey conducted by the Gezici Research Company predicted that Eroğlu would take the lead in the first round with 37.2% of the popular vote, but would lose to Akıncı in the second round, by a margin of 21%. 21.1% of respondents said that they would vote for Siber and 11.4% for Özersay. 3,072 voters were consulted.


Conduct

On 19 April, the media was not allowed to make any comments or relay any unauthorized election results until 19:00 on the election day. Violations resulted in the newspapers ''Detay'', ''
Kıbrıs Postası ''Kıbrıs Postası'' ( Turkish for ''The Cyprus Post'') is a daily newspaper in Northern Cyprus owned by ''Citypress Yayıncılık Ltd''. It has been published since 22 November 2001 and has the largest online readership of any Turkish Cypriot n ...
'' and '' Afrika'', all of which had quotations from social networking websites, being pulled off the shelf by the authorities and the channel
Ada TV Ada TV, is a television channel which broadcasts in both satellite and terrestrial in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. On 20 July 2008, the prime minister of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus Prime ...
being banned from broadcasting until 19:00.


Results

Akıncı won the first round in three districts;
Lefkoşa Nicosia ( ; el, Λευκωσία, Lefkosía ; tr, Lefkoşa ; hy, Նիկոսիա, romanized: ''Nikosia''; Cypriot Arabic: Nikusiya) is the largest city, capital, and seat of government of Cyprus. It is located near the centre of the Mesaori ...
(31.27%),
Girne Kyrenia ( el, Κερύνεια ; tr, Girne ) is a city on the northern coast of Cyprus, noted for its historic harbour and castle. It is under the ''de facto'' control of Northern Cyprus. While there is evidence showing that the wider region ...
(27.61%) and
Güzelyurt Güzelyurt, formerly Gelveri (Cappadocian Greek: Καρβάλη), is a town and district of Aksaray Province in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey, at a distance of from the city of Aksaray. According to 2000 census, population of the distric ...
(32.47%). Eroğlu won it in two:
Gazimağusa Famagusta ( , ; el, Αμμόχωστος, Ammóchostos, ; tr, Gazimağusa or ) is a city on the east coast of Cyprus. It is located east of Nicosia and possesses the deepest harbour of the island. During the Middle Ages (especially under th ...
(31.83%) and
İskele Trikomo ( el, Τρίκωμο; Turkish: ''Yeni İskele'') is a town in North-Eastern Mesaoria in Cyprus. It is under the de facto control of Northern Cyprus and is the administrative center of the İskele District of Northern Cyprus. It gained mun ...
(37.47%). In the two districts won by Eroğlu, Akıncı came third, also behind Siber. In Lefkoşa and Girne, Özersay was in the second place, followed by Eroğlu and Siber respectively.


Reactions


Northern Cyprus

The results of the first round were described as a "surprise" upset of power by the mainstream newspaper '' Kıbrıs''. The candidates that emerged "joyful" from the first round were, according to the newspaper, Akıncı and Özersay. Özersay's high share of votes was especially pointed out as a surprise, given his lack of political history. It was commented that the discontented supporters of the National Unity Party (UBP) and Democratic Party (DP) had supported Özersay. The ruling Republican Turkish Party (CTP) was reported to be "in shock" over the failure of their candidate to progress to the second round. The newspaper reported claims that Siber had been the victim of an internal struggle within the party, and that many CTP voters had supported Akıncı. As Eroğlu's votes had seen a great decline from 2010, the results reportedly caused great turmoil and controversy within the UBP and the DP, as well as the CTP, which are the largest parties represented in the parliament. On 26 April, while voting, Prime Minister Yorgancıoğlu announced that the CTP congress to determine the leader of the party, scheduled to take place in October or November, could be rescheduled a few months earlier, and that he would not be a candidate in the congress. The results of the run-off election for Akıncı were called "a remarkable comeback after spending years in the political wilderness" by ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
''. Meanwhile, political scientist Erol Kaymak from the
Eastern Mediterranean University ) , country = North Cyprus ( Recognised only by Turkey) , website www.emu.edu.tr The Eastern Mediterranean University (EMU; tr, Doğu Akdeniz Üniversitesi) is a public university in Northern Cyprus. It was established in 1979 under the leade ...
, speaking to
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
, said that "Akinci's election was not so much a referendum on a Cyprus peace deal, but rather on Eroglu's failed leadership." At the night of the run-off election, Eroğlu publicly congratulated Akıncı for his victory. In his statement, he said that he had brought the peace negotiations to where he would have liked them to be and that he had hoped that his efforts would result in a "settlement". He also said that he had "tried to develop the democracy of Northern Cyprus during his long political career". He announced that this would be his last election, but that he would keep sharing his opinions with the people. He claimed that a message had been sent by the people not to him, but to the political parties, and that they should "learn lessons from these results". Prime Minister Yorgancıoğlu congratulated Akıncı for his victory and expressed his happiness for such a victory by a candidate that his party supported in the second round. He thanked CTP supporters for actively endorsing Akıncı and called for Akıncı to remain equidistant to all political parties during his tenure. At the night of the election, Akıncı held a "rally of victory" in the İnönü Square of Nicosia. In the rally, he thanked his supporters and supporting political parties and called his election "a success of the Turkish Cypriot people". He said that a change had begun from the top of the country, and that he would strive to solve the Cyprus dispute by initiating trust-building measures. He promised not to interfere with the internal politics of parties and to take a strong stance on social issues such as gender equality. He also denounced allegations that he wanted the return of
mainland Turks in Northern Cyprus The Turkish settlers (Cypriot Turkish: , "those from Turkey"), also referred to as the Turkish immigrants ( tr, Türkiyeli göçmenler), are a group of Turkish people from Turkey who have settled in Northern Cyprus since the Turkish invasion of Cypr ...
, saying that he embraced them as "people of this land" and promised to keep a "personality" in the Turkish Cypriot relationship with Turkey, without being submissive or belligerent.


Republic of Cyprus

Upon Akıncı's election,
Nicos Anastasiades Nicos Anastasiades ( el, Νίκος Αναστασιάδης ; born 27 September 1946) is a Cypriot politician who is the current president of Cyprus since 2013. He was re-elected in 2018. Previously, he was the leader of Democratic Rally betwe ...
, President of the
Republic of Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...
, called to congratulate him. Anastasiades wrote on Twitter that it was "a hopeful development for our common homeland". Foreign Minister
Ioannis Kasoulidis Ioannis Kasoulides ( el, Ιωάννης Κασουλίδης; born 10 August 1948 in Nicosia, Cyprus) is a Cypriot politician, party member of DISY and current Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cyprus. He has served in the same position from 199 ...
said that they were "gratified" by the result and that they would wait for the suggestions of the Turkish side at the table of negotiations. Former Cypriot president
Demetris Christofias Demetris Christofias, also spelled Dimitris Christofias ( el, Δημήτρης Χριστόφιας ; 29 August 1946 – 21 June 2019), was a Cypriot politician who served as the sixth president of Cyprus from 2008 to 2013. Christofias was the Ge ...
sent Akıncı a congratulatory letter, wherein, in reference to the ongoing negotiations for the settlement of the Cyprus dispute, he alluded to obstructionist practices by third-party Greek- and Turkish-Cypriot factions. The letter elicited the protest of centrist
DIKO The Democratic Party ( el, Δημοκρατικό Κόμμα (ΔΗΚΟ), ''Dimokratikó Kómma'' (DIKO)) is a Greek-Cypriot nationalist, centrist political party in Cyprus founded in 1976 by Spyros Kyprianou. DIKO is variously described as cent ...
party, who stated that Christofias "equated" Turkish war crimes with the legitimate concerns of the Greek-Cypriot populace. DIKO leader and Member of Parliament
Nikolas Papadopoulos Nikolas Papadopoulos ( el, Νικόλας Παπαδόπουλος; born 22 April 1973) is a Greek Cypriot lawyer and politician. He has been Member of Parliament for Nicosia since 2006 and leader of centrist DIKO party since 2013. Papadopoulos c ...
refused to congratulate Akıncı, exclaiming on Twitter, "Why exactly should I congratulate the occupation leader?" Akıncı's win made the headlines in all Greek-Cypriot newspapers the next day. With the exception of ''
Simerini ''I Simerini'' (English: The Daily) is a centre-right Greek language independently owned newspaper published in Cyprus since 1976. It is one of the largest newspapers on the island with a daily circulation of around 9,000 copies. Other daily Greek ...
'', they all bore optimistic and reconciliatory messages.


Turkey

The day following his election, Akıncı had a public argument with Turkish President
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (born 26 February 1954) is a Turkish politician serving as the List of presidents of Turkey, 12th and current president of Turkey since 2014. He previously served as prime minister of Turkey from 2003 to 2014 and as Lis ...
. In response to Akıncı's statement that the "mother-daughter" relationship between Turkey and Northern Cyprus should be replaced by a "fraternal" one, Erdoğan said that Akıncı "should mind what he says" and reminded him of Turkey's financial and military support, as well as Turkish soldiers that have fallen in Cyprus. Akıncı responded to this by saying that he was behind his words and could not comprehend why Erdoğan would oppose a fraternal relationship, saying that his policies were approved by the Turkish Cypriot people and asking if "Turkey idnot want its daughter to grow". Erdoğan, as well as Prime Minister
Ahmet Davutoğlu Ahmet Davutoğlu (; born 26 February 1959) is a Turkish academic, politician and former diplomat who served as the 26th Prime Minister of Turkey and Leader of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) from 2014 to 2016. He previously served as M ...
, later called Akıncı to congratulate him.


References

{{Northern Cyprus elections
Northern Cyprus Northern Cyprus ( tr, Kuzey Kıbrıs), officially the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC; tr, Kuzey Kıbrıs Türk Cumhuriyeti, ''KKTC''), is a ''de facto'' state that comprises the northeastern portion of the Geography of Cyprus, isl ...
Northern Cyprus Northern Cyprus ( tr, Kuzey Kıbrıs), officially the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC; tr, Kuzey Kıbrıs Türk Cumhuriyeti, ''KKTC''), is a ''de facto'' state that comprises the northeastern portion of the Geography of Cyprus, isl ...
Presidential elections in Northern Cyprus
Presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The pre ...
2010s in Cypriot politics Northern Cypriot presidential election Northern Cypriot presidential election