| Northern Cyprus |
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Elections in Northern Cyprus, also referenced as the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus or TRNC, bring into office a president and a legislature which exercise de facto leadership over the northern 36.27% (3,355 km2./1,295 sq.mi.) of the island of Cyprus, encompassing the territory of the internationally-unrecognized TRNC.
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The presidency, which is served in five-year terms, was instituted with TRNC's first presidential election in 1985 and continued with the elections of 1990, 1995, 2000 and 2005, with the next election scheduled for April 2010. The legislature, Cumhuriyet Meclisi (Assembly of the Republic of Northern Cyprus), has 50 members, elected for a five year term by mitigated proportional representation. The territory has a multi-party system, with two or three strong parties and another party which is also electorally successful. Although the voters are described as Turkish Cypriots, the Turkish mainland daily Sabah reported that in the 2009 elections only 38% of those entitled to vote were Turkish Cypriot, while the remaining 62% were Turkish citizens living in TRNC as settlers.
In the presidential election, a candidate must obtain at least 50% of the votes in order to secure a first-ballot victory. Upon failing to do so, the two top candidates compete in a runoff election, with the winner assuming the presidency.
The mitigated proportional representation system in use for legislative elections obligates each party to cross the 5% of the total vote election threshold in order to be seated in the 50-member parliament, which is chosen from five electoral districts, Lefkoşa (Nicosia), Gazimağusa (Famagusta), Girne (Kyrenia), Güzelyurt (Morphou) and İskele (Trikomo).
In the parliamentary elections, voters choose individual candidates with two options in the manner of voting: a party-line vote which, in effect, means a vote for each candidate from that party in that election district or, alternatively, the voter may choose different MP candidates from various parties. In this type of mixed voting, the voter may not choose more than the number of MPs from that district.
Residents of northern Cyprus are eligible to stand for election and vote in the national elections of the Republic of Cyprus (The Constitution states that a Turkish-Cypriot should be Vice-President of the Republic), but such adherence to original principles has not been put into practice since the island's division in 1974. However, Turkish-Cypriots living in the Greek areas, do participate in the elections.
| Parties | Votes | Vote % | Seats | +/– | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| National Unity Party (Ulusal Birlik Partisi) | 622.804 | 44.07% | 26 | +7 | ||
| Republican Turkish Party (Cumhuriyetçi Türk Partisi) | 415.574 | 29.15% | 15 | –9 | ||
| Democratic Party (Demokrat Partisi) | 150.695 | 10.65% | 5 | –1 | ||
| Communal Democracy Party (Toplumcu Demokrasi Partisi) | 97.334 | 6.87% | 2 | +1 | ||
| Freedom and Reform Party (Özgürlük ve Reform Partisi) | 87.879 | 6.20% | 2 | +2 | ||
| United Cyprus Party (Birleşik Kıbrıs Partisi) | 34.239 | 2.42% | — | — | ||
| Politics for the People Party (Halk İçin Siyaset Partisi) | 7.091 | 0.50% | — | — | ||
| Independents | 836 | 0.14% | — | –3 | ||
| Totals (turnout 81.42%) | 1.416.452 | 100.00 | 50 | — | ||
| Sources: World Bulletin Zaman | ||||||
The election took place on 17 April 2005 and was won by CTP leader Mehmet Ali Talat with a 56% share of the vote. The previous and at that point only president of Northern Cyprus, Rauf Denktaş, chose not to run again.
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| Date: | Candidates: | Party Affiliation: | % Vote: | Notes: |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 April 2000 |
Mustafa Akıncı Mehmet A. Talat Arif Hasan T. Desem Derviş Eroğlu Ayhan Kaymak Rauf R. Denktas Sener Levent Turgut Afsaroglu |
TKP CTP YBH UBP Independent Independent Independent Independent |
%11.70 %10.03 %2.60 %30.14 %0.38 %43.67 %0.92 %0.56 |
1- Number of registered voters: 126675 2-Participation Rate: %81.02 3-Derviş Eroğlu and Rauf R. Denktas was to run for the second round, but Derviş Eroğlu had forfeited so the second round did not take place |
| 15 Feb 1995 |
1- 1st round of 1995presidential elections. | |||
| 22 April 1995 |
1- 2nd round of 1995 presidential elections. | |||
| 22 April 1990 |
1- 1st round of 1990 presidential elections. | |||
| 9 June 1985 |
1- 1st round of 1985 presidential elections. | |||
| 28 June 1981 |
1- 1st round of 1981 presidential elections. |
| Date: | Parties: | % Votes: | Seats: | +/- | Notes: |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 Feb 2005 |
CTP - Cumhuriyetçi Turk Partisi UBP - Ulusal Birlik Partisi DP - Demokrat Parti BDH - Baris ve Demokrasi Hareketi TKP - Toplumcu Kurtuluş Partisi YP - New Party MAP - Milli Adalet Partisi |
%44.5 %31.7 %13.5 %5.8 %2.4 %1.6 %0.5 |
24 19 6 1 - - - |
+5 +1 -1 -5 - - - |
1- (+/-) - Difference in seats from 2003 election. |
| 14 Dec 2003 |
CTP - Cumhuriyetçi Turk Partisi UBP - Ulusal Birlik Partisi BDH - Baris ve Demokrasi Hareketi DP - Demokrat Parti |
% 35.18 % 32.93 % 13.14% %12.93 |
19 18 6 7 |
1- TKP entered the elections under the list of BDH. | |
| 6 Dec 1998 |
UBP - Ulusal Birlik Partisi DP - Demokrat Parti TKP - Toplumcu Kurtuluş Partisi CTP - Cumhuriyetçi Turk Partisi Others |
%40.4 %22.6 %15.4 %13.4 % 8.2 |
24 13 7 6 - |
1- Others includes UDP, BP, YBH | |
| 12 Dec 1993 |
UBP - Ulusal Birlik Partisi DP - Demokrat Parti CTP - Cumhuriyetçi Turk Partisi TKP - Toplumcu Kurtuluş Partisi Others (YKP, MMP, BEP) |
%29.8 %29.2 %24.2 %13.3 % 3.5 |
17 15 13 5 - |
1-Early General Elections 2- Others include YKP, MMP, BEP |
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| 13 Oct 1991 |
UBP - Ulusal Birlik Partisi Free Democratic Party (HDP) Others (YKP) |
%67.1 %13.9 %19 |
11 1 - |
1- Interim elections done to fill the seats of 12 MPs who had resigned. 2- CTP and TKP boycotted the election. 3-Others include SDP, MAP, BEP, YDP |
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| 6 May 1990 | UBP - Ulusal Birlik Partisi Democratic Struggle Party (DMP) Others (YKP) |
%54.7 %44.5 %0.8 |
34 16 - |
1- DMP is an election alliance party for CTP, TKP, YDP. | |
| 23 Jun 1985 |
UBP - Ulusal Birlik Partisi CTP - Cumhuriyetçi Turk Partisi TKP - Toplumcu Kurtuluş Partisi YDP - Yeni Dogus Partisi (YDP) Others |
%36.7 %21.4 %15.8 %8.8 %17.3 |
24 12 10 4 - |
Others include TAP, SDP, DHP |
In 2009 President Mehmet Ali Talat has claimed that in 1990 and 1998 Turkish government officials along with other influential powers from Turkey interfered with the Parliamentary Elections.[1]
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