Republican Turkish Party leader Tufan Erhürman has defeated incumbent President Ersin Tatar by almost 27 percentage points, securing enough support to win the presidency outright in the first round.
Centre-left politician Tufan Erhürman has been elected the new President of the Turkish Republic of North Cyprus (TRNC) after recording a landslide victory in Sunday’s presidential election.
Erhürman, the leader and candidate of the main opposition Republican Turkish Party, Cumhuriyetçi Türk Partisi (CTP), received 62.76% of valid votes, according to preliminary results announced by the TRNC’s Supreme Election Board, the Yüksek Seçim Kurulu (YSK).
His main rival, incumbent President Ersin Tatar, who stood as an independent candidate but hails from the right wing National Unity Party, Ulusal Birlik Partisi (UBP), finished a distant second with 35.81%. The scale of Erhürman’s victory meant that the election was settled in the first round, without the need for a run-off vote.
The result represents a decisive change in political direction after five years under Tatar and is expected to renew efforts to restart the long-stalled United Nations-led negotiations over the future of Cyprus.
Erhürman campaigned in favour of returning to negotiations for a bi-zonal, bi-communal federal settlement based on the political equality of the island’s two communities. Tatar, by contrast, has championed a two-state solution involving international recognition for the TRNC — a position also supported by the Turkish government.
Full presidential election results
The preliminary vote shares announced after all 777 ballot boxes had been counted were:
Tufan Erhürman — Republican Turkish Party (CTP): 62.76%
Ersin Tatar — Independent: 35.81%
Arif Salih Kırdağ — Independent: 0.33%
Osman Zorba — Cyprus Socialist Party: 0.32%
İbrahim Yazıcı — Independent: 0.24%
Mehmet Hasgüler — Independent: 0.22%
Hüseyin Gürlek — Independent: 0.19%
Ahmet Boran — Independent: 0.14%
Independent candidate Hüseyin Gürlek formally withdrew from the contest on Saturday, one day before polling, and announced his support for Tatar. However, his name had already been placed on the ballot paper and votes cast for him were included in the count.
The YSK initially put voter turnout at 64.87%. North Cyprus had 218,313 registered voters, with voting taking place between 8am and 6pm at polling stations across the six electoral districts.
Erhürman received 87,137 votes, compared with 49,714 for Tatar, giving the CTP candidate a victory margin of more than 37,000 votes. A total of 138,839 ballots were declared valid in the preliminary count.
Erhürman promises to represent all Turkish Cypriots
Addressing supporters at CTP headquarters after his victory became clear, Erhürman described the result as a collective victory for the Turkish Cypriot people rather than one belonging solely to his party.
“We won this election together as the Turkish Cypriot people,” he said, promising to serve impartially and to represent citizens regardless of their political affiliations.
Erhürman said he would cease acting as CTP leader and become president for those who had voted for him as well as those who had supported other candidates.
He also sought to reassure Ankara that foreign policy and matters concerning Cyprus would continue to be conducted in close consultation with Türkiye.
“Foreign policy will naturally be conducted in close consultation with Türkiye — let there be no doubt about that,” he said.
Tatar accepted the outcome and congratulated his opponent, saying the electorate’s decision had to be respected.
“The voters have decided this way,” the outgoing president said. He acknowledged that the result was significantly below the combined electoral strength normally associated with the three governing parties that had supported his independent candidacy.
Who is Tufan Erhürman?
Born in Lefkoşa in 1970, Erhürman is a lawyer, academic and experienced politician who previously served as TRNC prime minister.
He graduated from Ankara University’s Faculty of Law in 1992 and later completed a doctorate in law focusing on non-judicial oversight of public administration and the ombudsman system.
Erhürman worked as a legal academic at Ankara University, Hacettepe University and Middle East Technical University before teaching at Eastern Mediterranean University and Near East University in North Cyprus. He also served as vice-dean of Eastern Mediterranean University’s Faculty of Law.
Between 2008 and 2010, he was a member of the Turkish Cypriot negotiating team working under then-President Mehmet Ali Talat.
Erhürman was elected as a CTP member of the TRNC parliament for Lefkoşa in 2013, became the party’s secretary-general in 2015 and was elected CTP leader the following year. He served as prime minister in a four-party coalition government formed after the January 2018 general election.
The 55-year-old is now set to become the TRNC’s sixth president.
Although the presidency has limited authority over the day-to-day running of government, the office carries major political importance because the president represents the Turkish Cypriot community in negotiations with the Greek Cypriot leadership and the United Nations.
Landslide raises hopes of renewed Cyprus negotiations
The result is likely to place the Cyprus issue back near the top of the political agenda.
Formal negotiations have been stalled since the collapse of talks at Crans-Montana, Switzerland, in 2017. Erhürman argued during the campaign that the absence of meaningful negotiations under Tatar had increased the international isolation of Turkish Cypriots.
His election does not guarantee an immediate return to talks, however. Türkiye continues to advocate a two-state settlement, while Erhürman supports a federal model broadly aligned with the existing UN framework.
Erhürman has nevertheless stressed that any negotiations would be pursued in consultation with Ankara and that the political equality and security of Turkish Cypriots would remain non-negotiable.
Cyprus has remained divided since 1974, when a Greek junta-backed coup seeking union with Greece was followed by a Turkish military intervention. The TRNC declared independence in 1983 but is recognised internationally only by Türkiye.
Internationally, the holder of the TRNC presidency is therefore also commonly referred to as the elected ‘Leader of the Turkish Cypriot community’.
Erdoğan and Christodoulides congratulate Erhürman
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan congratulated Erhürman shortly after the result was announced, saying the election had once again demonstrated the democratic maturity of the TRNC and reflected the will of the Turkish Cypriot people.
Erdoğan added that Türkiye would continue to defend the sovereign rights and interests of the TRNC and Turkish Cypriots “on every platform”.
Republic of Cyprus President and Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Christodoulides also congratulated Erhürman and expressed his readiness to meet the president-elect and resume negotiations.
Christodoulides said he looked forward to meeting Erhürman as soon as possible, describing the resumption of talks as a priority.
Erhürman’s emphatic mandate is likely to raise expectations of renewed diplomatic activity. However, significant differences remain over sovereignty, political equality, security guarantees, Turkish troops, territory, and the form that any future settlement should take.
The immediate challenge for the president-elect will be to translate his large electoral victory into renewed engagement with the Greek Cypriot leadership and the United Nations, while maintaining a constructive relationship with Türkiye.
