09 January 2018•Update: 10 January 2018
By Murat Demirci, Satuk Bugra Kutlugun
LEFKOSA, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
The final official results of snap parliamentary elections in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyrpus (TRNC) were announced on Tuesday evening, which confirmed that a coalition was on the cards.
The National Unity Party (UBP), led by current Prime Minister Huseyin Ozgurgun, got the most votes, with 35.57 percent, in Sunday’s election, Supreme Election Committee head Narin Sefik said.
No party won enough votes to emerge as the ruling party.
The UBP managed to claim 21 seats in the parliament.
Six of the eight parties running got past the 5 percent threshold needed for representation in parliament.
Northern Cyprus has over 190,500 eligible voters.
The capital, Lefkosa, has the most deputies in parliament, with 16, followed by Gazimagusa with 13 deputies, Girne with 10, Iskele with five, Guzelyurt with four, and Lefke with two.
Since the last general elections of January 2013, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus has had three coalition governments led by three different prime ministers.
In November 2017, parliament passed a motion by a vote of 38-2 calling for early elections. Under the motion, general elections originally planned for July 2018 were moved up seven months to Jan. 7.
