The ruling National Unity Party (UBP) is ahead in the Turkish Cyprus early elections with 39.54% of the votes in favor, according to preliminary results.
Unofficial results announced by the Supreme Election Board (YSK) showed that all votes have been counted and UBP secured 39.54% of the vote.
The ruling party is followed by the Republican Turkish Party (CTP) with 32.04%, Democrat Party (DP) with 7.41%, Rebirth Party (YDP) with 6.39% and People's Party (HP) with 6.68%.
The Communal Democracy Party (TDP), Communal Liberation Party New Forces (TKP-YG) and Independence Path Party (BY) stayed below the 5% threshold, according to the election authority.
With the current standings, UBP gets 24 seats, CTP 18, DP three, HP three, and YDP two in the 50-member parliament.
Compared to the previous election, the UBP increased their number of seats by three, the number of seats of the CTP increased by 50%, while the HP decreased from nine deputies to three deputies.
In his first interview after the elections, UBP Chairperson Faiz Sucuoğlu told Anadolu Agency (AA) that the elections have proved to be a victory for democracy.
“Thankfully there have been no tensions or problems. I always say this, this is our wealth,” he said.
Touching upon the negative impact of the pandemic throughout the world and Cyprus, Sucuoğlu said they had experienced similar economic downturns in the past and that he is sure that the new government will overcome the ongoing economic problems.
Touching upon his visit to Turkey last week, Sucuoğlu said Turkey has always unconditionally helped the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) and will continue to do so.
“We will spend more time with Ankara in this new era,” he said.
“We may be two states but we are one nation,” Sucuoğlu said, adding that the TRNC is the southern part of the Turkish nation, always on guard to protect the interests of TRNC and Turkey.
Regarding the government, Sucuoğlu said they will draw a roadmap with a coalition partner and create a country that is able to stand its own legs.
Main opposition CTP Chairperson Tufan Erhürman noted that they have increased the party’s votes by nearly 50%. He continued by saying that his party will work harder as the opposition in the upcoming term and adopt a harsher stance against “wrongful” policies.
Noting that there has been a significant decrease in voter turnout, DP Chairperson Fikri Ataoğlu said the reasons behind it need to be analyzed.
Meanwhile, YDP Chairperson Erhan Arıklı said they were unable to reach the results they had been expecting since they were competing against parties with massive budgets but said they were successful to have three lawmakers entering parliament.
The TDP Chairperson Cemal Özyiğit said he will submit his resignation as the chair for failing to reach expectations and that he would make a more detailed analysis after official election results.
According to AA, Communal Democracy Party (TDP), Communal Liberation Party-New Forces (TKP-YG) and Independence Path Party (BY) have been unable to surpass the 5% electoral threshold so far as the votes continue to be counted.
The voter turnout was 55.43% by 5.30 p.m. local time (3:30 p.m. GMT), according to the election authority.
Nearly 203,800 Turkish Cypriots went to the polls to elect lawmakers of parliament.
Some 403 candidates contended for spots in parliament.
Among the 403 candidates were 131 women – nearly one-third – with the youngest born in 1996.
The Turkish Cypriot state last November set the date for early elections, one year ahead of the schedule.
Currently, there are 49 deputies in parliament; 20 from UBP, 12 from CTP, six from HP, three from DP and TDP, one from YDP and four independent deputies.
Some 40 of the 49 current deputies of parliament are running in the election.
After Ersin Tatar had been elected as the TRNC's president, the number of deputies in parliament had decreased to 49.
Election campaigns of the political parties have been overshadowed by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has seen an upsurge of cases in recent days.
Taking into account the decisions of the country's health committee, the TRNC's Supreme Election Committee adopted additional measures for the elections.
Only those who were vaccinated and had the 14-day antigen/polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test were allowed to participate in the political parties' indoor election meetings.
Parties' rallies in open fields were limited to 150 people.
Moreover, as part of the coronavirus measures, voters were prohibited from voting without a mask, and they were provided with gloves.
The economy was a key topic of speeches by the candidates during the TRNC's snap parliamentary election campaign. Due to the pandemic, political parties presented their vision to voters on health issues as well as future economic goals, which were top agenda items of all candidates.
Political parties made significant efforts to attract public support by offering their perspectives and visions on different issues.
