Early parliamentary elections were held in

Northern Cyprus Northern Cyprus, officially the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), is a ''de facto'' state that comprises the northeastern portion of the Geography of Cyprus, island of Cyprus. It is List of states with limited recognition, recognis ...

on 20 February 2005, after the coalition government led by

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 (, CTP), from 1996 to 2005 and 2015 to ...

lost its majority in the House of Representatives. The vote was a resounding victory for

's CTP-United Forces alliance, although it fell just short of a majority. The UBP, Democratic Party and BDH also crossed the 5% election threshold and won seats in the House.

Electoral system

The House had 50 members, elected for a five-year term by mitigated

proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to any electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to political divisions (Political party, political parties) amon ...

. Under North Cyprus law, a party had to receive 5% of the total vote to get any seats in parliament.

Results

Aftermath

Talat became Prime Minister, leading a coalition of the CTP and DP.

June 2006 by-election

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

was held on 25 June 2006 to fill the positions left vacant by the death of

Salih Miroğlu Saleh or Salih () is a prophet mentioned in the Qur'an who prophesied to the tribe of Thamud in ancient Arabia, before the lifetime of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. The story of Salih is linked to the story of the She-Camel of God, which was th ...

(UBP general secretary) and the election of Talat as president. The two parliamentary seats in contention were in

Lefkoşa Nicosia, also known as Lefkosia and Lefkoşa, is the capital and largest city of Cyprus. It is the southeasternmost of all EU member states' capital cities. Nicosia has been continuously inhabited for over 5,500 years and has been the capita ...

and

Kyrenia Kyrenia 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 of Kyrenia has been populated before, ...

. This by-election was held together with municipal elections, and the

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy of the United State ...

reported that both "were generally free and fair". Of the two vacant seats, one was held by the National Unity Party, the other by the CTP. The two elected candidates were Gülboy Beydağlı and Özkan Yorgancıoğlu, both of which belong to the CTP. The latter thus increased its representation in the Assembly from 24 to 25 seats. The ruling coalition of the CTP and DP had difficulty forming a government after this by-election. When three deputies (two from the National Unity Party and one from the Democratic Party) resigned to form the new, progovernment Freedom and Reform Party in September, the coalition collapsed and

Serdar Denktaş Serdar Denktaş (born 1959) is son of Rauf Denktaş, the former President of the de facto Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus Northern Cyprus, officially the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), is a '' de facto'' state that comp ...

quit the government. The CTP then formed a

coalition government A coalition government, or coalition cabinet, is a government by political parties that enter into a power-sharing arrangement of the executive. Coalition governments usually occur when no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an ...

with the newly formed Freedom and Reform Party, in which it was the biggest partner, holding seven ministries.

References

{{Northern Cyprus elections

Elections in Northern Cyprus

Parliamentary In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

2000s in Cypriot politics