Ruling party to form government in Northern Cyprus

By Murat Demirci

LEFKOSA, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus

The National Unity Party (UBP) will form a government in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), the country’s president announced Wednesday.

Led by incumbent Prime Minister Huseyin Ozgurgun, the UBP got the most -- 35.57 percent votes -- in the Jan. 7 parliamentary elections.

President Mustafa Akinci received Ozgurgun at the Presidential Palace in Lefkosa.

Speaking to the press, Akinci said that a coalition government that can receive a vote of confidence has not been formed so far and other parties represented in the parliament agreed that this task should be given to the UBP.

Ozgurgun said: “We will try to fulfill this task given by President Akinci in the best way."

In the snap election, no party won enough votes to emerge as the ruling party.

The UBP managed to claim 21 seats in the parliament. Other parties, which passed a 5 percent election threshold, are the Republican Turkish Party (CTP) with 12 seats, People’s Party (HP) with nine seats, Communal Democracy Party (TDP) with three seats, Democratic Party (DP) with three seats, Rebirth Party (YDP) with two seats.

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, the Turkish Cypriot 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.