19.10.2025 09:11
The voting process has begun at the polling stations set up for the first round of the presidential election in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). In this election, Osman Zorba, Tufan Erhürman, Arif Salih Kırdağ, Ahmet Boran, Mehmet Hasgüler, İbrahim Yazıcı, and Ersin Tatar are the candidates, and the president will be elected by receiving more than 50% of the votes. Just hours before the election, Hüseyin Gürlek announced that he was withdrawing his candidacy in favor of Tatar.
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The voting process has begun at the polling stations set up for the first round of the presidential election in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC).
THE NEIGHBOR WENT TO THE POLLS FOR THE 9TH TIME Citizens in the TRNC went to the polls for the 9th time to elect their president. Starting from 08:00, TRNC citizens can vote at 777 polling stations set up across the country until 18:00.
A CANDIDATE WHO RECEIVES 50+1 VOTES WILL BE ELECTED In the TRNC, where there are 218,313 voters, a candidate must receive a simple majority of valid votes to be elected president. If any candidate receives more than 50% of the votes in the first round, they will be elected president.
If no candidate achieves a simple majority, the top two candidates with the most votes in the first round will participate in the second round of elections to be held within 7 days. The candidate with the highest votes in the second round will be entitled to take the presidential seat.
ORDER ON THE BALLOT The order on the ballot in the first round of the election, where 7 candidates including 5 independents are competing, is as follows:
"Osman Zorba (Cyprus Socialist Party) 1, Tufan Erhürman (Republican Turkish Party) 2, Arif Salih Kırdağ (Independent) 3, Ahmet Boran (Independent) 4, Mehmet Hasgüler (Independent) 5, İbrahim Yazıcı (Independent) 6, Hüseyin Gürlek (Independent) 7, Ersin Tatar (Independent) 8."
From left to right: Osman Zorba, Tufan Erhürman, Arif Salih Kırdağ, Ahmet Boran, Mehmet Hasgüler, İbrahim Yazıcı, and Ersin Tatar. Hüseyin Gürlek, who is in 7th place on the ballot, announced that he withdrew his candidacy in favor of Ersin Tatar a day before the election. Thus, the number of candidates competing in the presidential election has decreased to 7.
A CANDIDATE WITHDREW IN FAVOR OF TATAR HOURS BEFORE In the presidential elections in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), candidate Hüseyin Gürlek announced that he withdrew his candidacy in favor of TRNC President Ersin Tatar one day before the elections.
"FIRST THE HOMELAND, FIRST THE STATE, FIRST THE TRNC" In the presidential elections to be held tomorrow in the TRNC, one of the 8 candidates decided to withdraw from the election. Hüseyin Gürlek, one of the presidential candidates in the TRNC, stated in a post on his social media account, "In this critical election, the interests of the TRNC, Turkey, and the entire Eastern Mediterranean are in favor of a two-state solution. If it is about the homeland, the rest is detail. The common sensitivity of all our friends who supported us and walked with us during this process is in this direction, and we have carried out a critical duty to serve our people, our homeland, and our nation by raising the necessary awareness on this issue. In our evaluations made due to the unending duty to the homeland, I share with the public that I have withdrawn my candidacy in favor of my nation, my state, and President Ersin Tatar, as required by the conjuncture and the election atmosphere. I invite all our people and friends to fulfill their duties at the ballot box tomorrow. First the homeland, first the state, first the TRNC," he expressed.
SHARING FROM MINISTER FIDAN Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan made a statement regarding the presidential elections to be held in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC).
In his statement, Foreign Minister Fidan said, "I wish the presidential elections to be held in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus to be beneficial for the Turkish Cypriot people and the entire island. We are confident that the elections will once again showcase the state tradition and democratic culture in the TRNC," he stated.
Minister Fidan emphasized that Turkey stands by the Turkish Cypriot people in his statement, saying, "The motherland and guarantor Turkey will continue to strongly emphasize that the only realistic solution to the Cyprus issue lies in the acceptance of the existence of two separate states on the island in every platform."
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