Northern Cyprus parliamentary election, 2005
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Early parliamentary elections were held in the internationally unrecognised Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus on February 20, 2005, after the coalition government led by Mehmet Ali Talat lost its majority in the House of Representatives. The assembly has 50 members, elected for a five year term by mitigated proportional representation. A party must cross the election threshold (5% of the total vote) to get any seats in parliament.
[edit] Official results
The vote was a resounding victory for Mehmet Ali Talat's CTP-United Forces alliance, although it fell just short of a parliamentary majority. The UBP, DP and BDH have also crossed the 5% election threshold and have won seats in parliament. Party leader Mehmet Ali Talat will have to form a coalition, although a coalition even with the smallest Peace and Democracy Movement party will be sufficient to establish a majority. Talat has already said, however, that he not ruling out any option, even hinting he may offer a coalition to second-placed National Unity.
[edit] Nationwide results
As published by the Turkish Cypriot Electoral Commission in the Official Gazette on February 22:
| Party | Leader | Votes | % of total vote | Seats | +/- | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Republican Turkish Party and United Forces (CTP-BG) | Mehmet Ali Talat | 261,287 | 44.5 | 24 | 5 |
 |
National Unity Party (UBP) | Dervis Eroglu | 160,974 | 31.7 | 19 | 1 |
 |
Democrat Party (DP) | Serdar Denktash | 71,764 | 13.5 | 6 | −1 |
 |
Peace and Democracy Movement (BDH) | Mustafa Akinci | 40,174 | 5.8 | 1 | −5 |
 |
Social Liberation Party (TKP) | Hüseyin Angolemli | 15,428 | 2.4 | 0 | N/A |
| New Party (YP) | Nuri Çevikel | 5,998 | 1.6 | 0 | N/A | |
| Nationalist Justice Party (MAP) | Ata Tepe | 2,088 | 0.5 | 0 | N/A |
(+/-) - Difference in seats from 2003 election.
The participation rate was 80.82%, with 119,009 out of 147,249 eligible voters casting a ballot.
[edit] Aftermath
Under the Turkish Cypriot constitution, the members of the new parliament must gather to be sworn in 10 days after the results are officially published - in this case on March 4. Soon after this first session, President Rauf Denktash will ask Mehmet Ali Talat to form the next government. Talat will then have 15 days to establish a coalition government.
Talat has said his party has not yet reviewed its options, although he said to journalists on February 23 that he has "two coalition alternatives: the Democrat Party or the National Unity Party".
