Tufan Erhürman was elected on Sunday as the Turkish Cypriot leader, reviving hopes that talks on the reunification of the divided island could resume.
The 55-year-old lawyer achieved an unprecedented landslide victory, unseating hard-liner incumbent Ersin Tatar, who was considered Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s favorite.
Turkey’s 1974 invasion, which came in response to a Greece-backed coup in Cyprus, split the island along ethnic lines, creating a Turkish Cypriot north and a Greek Cypriot south. Ankara does not recognize the Republic of Cyprus, an EU member country that is otherwise recognized internationally as the sole sovereign authority over the whole island. Several attempts to find a compromise settlement over the years have failed, the last one in 2017, and formal talks have not resumed since.
According to official results, Erhürman secured 62.8 percent of the vote in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, which is only recognized by Turkey, while incumbent Tatar won 35.8 percent.
Erhürman is a proponent of reunification talks under the auspices of the United Nations. He has served in the Turkish Cypriot legislature since 2013, is the leader of center-left CTP party, a position from which he will have to resign in the coming days.
Tatar mirrored Turkey’s views and was in favor of a two-state solution. During his five-year tenure, the Turkish north has toughened its stance, even as the U.N. continues to push for what is known as “a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation.”
During the campaign, Erhürman promised that his first visit would be to Ankara to meet Erdoğan.
In his first comments after his victory, the new Turkish Cypriot leader said that his leadership “will be exercised in an impartial, fair and inclusive manner.”
He promised, though, to be in close consultation with Turkey on “foreign policy,” saying that “no one should have the slightest concern about this issue. We will address all ‘foreign policy’ issues in consultation with Turkey,” he said.
Erdoğan congratulated Erhürman on his victory and said “Turkey will continue to defend the sovereign rights and interests of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus on every platform, together with our Turkish brothers.”
“The only realistic solution to the Cyprus problem lies in the acceptance of the existence of two separate states on the island,” Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan repeated on social platform X on Saturday ahead of the vote.
The president of the Republic of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulides, congratulated Erhürman on his victory and reiterated his readiness for the resumption of the negotiations under the U.N. auspices.
“The upcoming informal meeting announced by the U.N. secretary-general is a crucial opportunity to restart the process,” Christodoulides said. “The solution to the Cyprus problem must be based on United Nations resolutions, Security Council decisions, and the principles and values of the European Union, of which the Republic of Cyprus is and will continue to be a member state.”
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