Turkish Cypriots head for December election
Turkish Cypriots are heading for a general election, as no political party in the north can rally the minimum 26 out of 50 assembly seats needed to govern, after the ruling coalition collapsed. It is the sixth coalition to fail in the past seven years causing political instability and public mistrust. According to the constitution of the breakaway state in the north, Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar has 60 days to give the mandate of setting up a new governing coalition to a party leader or a member of the assembly who can rally the support needed.
The sixty-day period ends on 12 December, and if a coalition is not formed by then, Turkish Cypriots will be called to vote.
The ruling coalition in the Turkish occupied north tendered its resignation on Wednesday, with the Turkish Cypriot community heading for an early election after three years.
The tri-partite coalition of the National Unity Party (UBP)-Democrat Party (DP)-Rebirth Party (YDP), under UBP’s Ersan Saner is the second shortest lived coalition in the north, lasting just 10 months in power.
Only an unlikely coalition between the left wing Turkish Republican Party (CTP) and right wing UBP, under the leadership of CTP’s Omer Kalyoncu can rescue the situation.
This coalition lasted just nine months before collapsing due to much anticipated disagreements between the two sides.
Saner tendered his resignation to Tatar quoting quorum issues within the assembly, as a number of his own MPs had defected, while losing the support of two out three DP members.
YDP had announced earlier this week that it planned to leave the coalition, citing complaints of being ignored by Saner. He said: “Quorum issues, developments within the two coalition partner parties and certain problems in government lead to this resignation”.
“I observed the government could not continue further,” Saner told reporters after submitting his resignation to Tatar, whom he said was assessing the decision.
“We do not have a majority in the parliament….”
Saner added an early election should be held as soon as possible.
The coalition has collapsed after 10 months, following the election of Tatar as Turkish Cypriot leader in October 2020, which left a power vacuum and bickering over broken promises. The far-right Rebirth Party (YDP) leader and second in command in the ruling coalition, Erhan Arikli, told the media he was to seek his party’s consent to leave the coalition.
In recent assembly meetings, the ruling coalition could not round up its participants to form the necessary quorum to hold a session.
MPs abstained from sessions in what has been interpreted as a silent protest against Saner. Forming a government in the north’s 50-seat parliament requires the support of at least 26 lawmakers. UBP in the last election, led by Ersin Tatar, had garnered 21 seats, and formed a four-party government with DP’s three members, People’s Party (HP) nine and YDP’s two MPs.