Girne Mayor slams harbour restoration
THE new mayor of Girne, Murat Şenkul, has criticised a sixmonth revamp of the iconic Girne Antique Harbour.
Workmen moved in and sealed off the seafront last month to begin work, as previously reported by this newspaper, before local elections on Christmas Day that saw the government coalition-backed Nidai Gündgördü ousted as mayor by main opposition Republican Turkish Party (CTP) candidate Şenkul.
On Wednesday the Tourism, Culture, Youth and Enviroment Ministry said in a statement that it is taking “concrete steps” at Girne Antique Harbour, which it said has been under the responsibility of the ministry “for years”.
“With the restoration of this historical harbour, which is among the most distinguished places for tourism, more tourists and members of the public are expected to visit the region,” the statement added.
On Thursday, in one of his first acts as mayor, Mr Şenkul visited the harbour to inspect the work taking place there, accompanied by councillors and senior council officials.
A statement from Girne Municipality said Mr Şenkul made note during the inspection of “serious deficiencies in some important issues”.
Noting that it is “unacceptable” for Girne Municipality to be “excluded” from the Girne Antique Harbor project, Mr Şenkul said he is planning to hold a meeting with Tourism Ministry officials to “determine a roadmap immediately”.
He said he has also assigned a member of his team’s “technical staff” to the area until the harbour revamp is completed.
Mr Şenkul said he wants to help “in every way” so that the restoration project can be completed in a “healthy” manner.
“As we promised, we are here so that the project can be completed by May 30, which is the deadline,” he stressed.
He also said he will hold discussions with the restoration project coordinator to resolve the “deficiencies” and that he plans to hold a separate meeting with the owners of harbour businesses, which have been forced to close while the work is ongoing, on Monday to “determine a way forward”.
Mr Şenkul added: “The Girne Antique Harbour project is under way but Girne Municipality has been excluded from it; this has no place in our understanding of municipalism.”
GİRNE, Gazimağusa and Gönyeli all have new mayors following local elections on Christmas Day.
The changes at the top of three of the TRNC’s biggest municipalities were the main headlines from the elections that had been postponed twice, first from June and then November, as the government reduced the number of town halls from 28 to 18.
In what was seen as a major blow to the three government coalition parties, who formed an alliance for the local elections, Süleyman Uluçay of the main opposition Republican Turkish Party (CTP) secured 49.55 per cent of the votes in Gazimağusa, defeating National Unity Party (UBP) challenger Erdal Özcenk, who received 39.98 per cent of the votes.
Ahead of the elections UBP leader and Prime Minister Ünal Üstel had stressed the importance of having control over Gazimağusa Municipality due to the government policy of reopening the area of Maraş, also known as Varosha, which lies within its jurisdiction.
In Girne, the tenure of “independent” candidate Nidai Güngördü, who had the backing of the government alliance, came to an end as he was ousted in a closely fought three-way battle.
The CTP’s Murat Şenkul became the new mayor of Girne, with 34.30 per cent of the votes compared to 32.34 per cent for Güngördü, and 31.66 per cent for Social Democracy Party (TDP) candidate and former minister and ex-MP Zeki Çeler.
There was better news for the UBP in Gönyeli, where their candidate Hüseyin Amcaoğlu secured a comfortable victory to become the mayor of the Gönyeli-Alayköy Municipality, formed after the smaller Alayköy Municipality was merged with Gönyeli Municipality.
He gained 62.23 per cent of the votes compared to 37.77 per cent for CTP’s incumbent Ahmet Yalçın Benli, with no other candidates vying for the job.
The win was sweet revenge for Mr Amcaoğlu, whose father Ali Çetin Amcaoğlu was Gönyeli mayor for 12 years before losing to Mr Benli in 2006.
In the capital Lefkoşa, TDP incumbent Mehmet Harmancı sealed a third consecutive term in office with 49.44 per cent of the votes, more than the combined votes of his two nearest rivals.
The CTP’s Sıla Usar İncirli was second on 26.41 per cent, with UBP candidate Sadık Gardiyanoğlu third on 22.50 per cent.
Fırat Ataser swept to a clear win to become mayor of the newly formed Lapta-Alsancak-Çamlıbel Municipality, gaining 46.91 per cent of the votes compared to 29.13 per cent for independent candidate Fuat Namsoy and 15.39 per cent for the CTP’s Emre Efendi.
In Çatalköy-Esentepe, another municipality formed by the merger of two former councils, the CTP’s Ceyhun Kırok won with 36.16 per cent of the votes, just ahead of independent candidate Mehmet Hulusioğlu who picked up 34.77 per cent of the votes.
In Güzelyurt Mahmut Özçınar, of the UBP, secured 44.29 per cent of the votes to win a seventh term in office, defeating CTP challenger Osman Bican (35.54 per cent) and independent Reşat Kansoy (20.17 per cent).
The CTP’s Aziz Kaya saw off the challenge of the UBP’s Adil Özgey to continue as the mayor of Lefke.
He received just over half of the votes cast in Lefke compared to 46.70 per cent for Özgey and just 2.93 per cent for independent Adnan Eraslan.
In İskele, the UBP’s Hasan Sadıkoğlu had no trouble winning, gaining 65.42 per cent of votes compared to 34.58 per cent for independent candidate Mehmet Şenol.
SECOND WOMAN MAYOR ELECTED
The UBP’s Fatma Çimen Tuğlu became only the second woman ever to be elected as a mayor in North Cyprus and the first for 36 years as she garnered 45.14 per cent of votes in Mehmetçik-Büyükkonuk, compared to 41.21 per cent for the CTP’s Cemil Sarıçizmeli and 13.65 per cent for independent Mehmet Çelebi.
The last and first time a woman was elected as a mayor in the TRNC was in 1986 when the late Sevim Akbaş, also of the UBP, became the mayor of Akıncılar.
In Tatlısu Hayri Orçan secured the Democrat Party’s only mayoral victory of the election, gaining 53 per cent of the votes to retain his post.
The CTP’s Yüksel Çelebi secured re-election in Dikmen with 53.5 per cent of the votes compared to 45.41 per cent for the UBP’s Niyazi Öztürk.
In Değirmenlik-Akıncılar the CTP’s Ali Karavezirler secured 56.16 per cent of the votes to defeat the UBP’s Ebru Törehan (42.26 per cent).
The CTP’s Ahmet Latif secured election in Mesarya with 41.65 per cent of the votes.
In Geçitkale-Serdarlı, the UBP’s Halil Kasım secured 57.32 per cent of the votes to become mayor, defeating CTP challenger Hasan Öztaş (42.68 per cent).
Katip Demir was elected in Yeniboğaziçi by securing 42.32 percent of the votes, while in Beyarmudu independent candidate Bülent Bebek won with 42.85 per cent of the votes, just enough to beat the UBP’s İlker Edip, who finished on 41.78 per cent.
In Erenköy-Karpaz the UBP’s Hamit Bakırcı won with 46.05 per cent of the votes cast, comfortably defeating second placed Suphi Çoşkun, of the CTP, who received 26.67 per cent of the votes.
The CTP emerged as the political party with the most mayoral seats, winning in seven of the 18 municipalities. They were followed by the UBP on six and the TDP and DP with one each, while independent candidates won the three other mayoralties.
None of the three candidates who are currently MPs – Sadık Gardiyanoğlu, Sıla Usar İncirli and the CTP’s Şifa Çolakoğlu, who ran for mayor in Yeniboğaziçi – were able to win.