Overwhelming was the victory of Tufan Erhurman, who managed to defeat Turkish Cypriot leader and Erdogan’s favorite, Ersin Tatar, in yesterday’s (19/10) “presidential elections” in occupied Cyprus.
Erhurman managed to secure approximately 62.70% of the votes compared to Ersin Tatar, who received 35.81% in the elections in occupied Cyprus. Specifically, he gathered 87,137 votes, while Tatar received only 49,714 votes.
Erhurman’s victory raises hopes in Cyprus, as he does not adopt the two-state solution for the Cyprus problem and advocates for negotiations toward a Bizonal Bicommunal Federation solution.
Shortly after his victory, Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides congratulated the winner and was quick to announce that he is ready to participate in a new negotiation process, within the framework established by the United Nations.
Who is Tufan Erhurman
Erhurman was born in Nicosia on September 11, 1970. He studied law at Ankara University from 1988 and subsequently obtained master’s and doctoral degrees from the same university.
Between 2008 and 2010, he led negotiations for resolving the Cyprus issue. From 1999 to 2004, he worked in Turkey’s Ministry of Justice and aimed to establish the ombudsman institution in Turkey. He was elected as an MP in the pseudo-state elections in 2013 with the Republican Turkish Party.
He served as leader of the Republican Turkish Party from 2016. He was appointed “prime minister” in occupied territories in January 2018, following early parliamentary elections on January 7, 2018, in which he was re-elected as MP. On January 19, 2018, he formed a coalition government consisting of his party and the People’s Party, Democratic Party, and Communal Democracy Party, which dissolved on May 9, 2019, with Ersin Tatar becoming his successor, who later became “president” of the pseudo-state.
In his first public appearance after his election victory, before supporters at Kizilbas Park in occupied Nicosia, Erhurman spoke of a “victory for all” and “brotherhood of all citizens, regardless of where they or their parents were born.” However, he carefully avoided taking a position on the Cyprus solution, while in a statement he mentioned that on “foreign policy” issues he would act in coordination with Turkey, as had happened “historically” with previous “presidents” and would continue to happen with him.
