Tufan Erhurman wins TRNC presidential election, defeating incumbent President Ersin Tatar

Tufan Erhurman, the leader of the Republican Turkish Party (CTP), has won the presidential election in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) with 62.76% of the vote, Anadolu Agency noted citing preliminary results announced by the electoral authority on Sunday evening, Report informs via AZERTAC.

Erhurman defeated incumbent President Ersin Tatar, who received 35.81% of the vote.

Voter turnout in the presidential election was 64.87%, the Supreme Election Board of Northern Cyprus said.

Following the election results, Erhurman said: "Foreign policy will naturally be conducted in close consultation with Türkiye-let there be no doubt about that."

Responding to the election results, Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz said: "The elections have demonstrated the maturity of the TRNC as a state and of its voters. As the motherland and guarantor country, we will continue to stand by the TRNC."

Earlier, voting for the presidential election began on Sunday morning, with voters casting ballots from 8 am (0500GMT) to 6 pm (1500GMT) at 777 polling stations across the country. The TRNC has 218,313 eligible voters.

Incumbent President Ersin Tatar ran as an independent candidate, while Tufan Erhurman, leader of the main opposition Republican Turkish Party (CTP), contested as his party"s nominee.

Mehmet Hasguler, Arif Salih Kirdag, Ahmet Boran, and Ibrahim Yazici also ran as independents, while Osman Zorba represented the Cyprus Socialist Party.

Huseyin Gurlek, whose name appeared on the ballot, had initially planned to run but withdrew his candidacy on Saturday in support of Ersin Tatar.

19 October, 12:16

Presidential elections are being held in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), Report informs via Haber Global.

Voting for the first round began at 8:00 am local time (GMT+4) and will continue until 6:00 pm.

A total of 777 polling stations have been set up. There are 218,313 registered voters in the TRNC, and a candidate must secure a simple majority of valid votes to be elected president.

If a candidate receives 50% + 1 vote in the first round, they will be declared the winner.

If no one achieves an absolute majority, the two leading candidates will face each other in a runoff election to be held within seven days.

The candidate with the most votes in the second round will assume the presidency.

Seven candidates, including five independents, are running in the election. Incumbent President Ersin Tatar is contesting as an independent candidate this time.