The Turkish Republic of North Cyprus has confirmed that its General Election will take place on Sunday, 6 December 2026, alongside the country’s Local Elections.
MPs approved the decision on Thursday, 8 October, clearing the way for Turkish Cypriot voters to choose their national and local representatives on the same day.
As T‑VINE reported in September, Prime Minister Ünal Üstel’s government had proposed combining the two elections. Parliament had then approved fast-tracking the General Election proposal through committee, but final approval of the date was still outstanding.
The Supreme Election Council / Yüksek Seçim Kurulu (YSK) published the parliamentary election timetable on Friday, 9 October. Parties have until 27 October to select their candidates, with nominations submitted on 30 October. Candidates will be finalised on 8 November and the confirmed lists published the following day.
The official campaigning period will run from 10 November until 5 December. Electoral rolls will be displayed for public inspection from 1 November for seven days, allowing voters to check their details.
In line with TRNC election rules, publication of election opinion polls and surveys will be permitted until 21 November.
All 50 seats in the TRNC Parliament will be contested. The chamber currently has 49 sitting MPs, with one vacant seat following the departure of former CTP leader Tufan Erhürman when he was elected TRNC President last October.
The current parliament was elected in January 2022, although the breakdown is different to the original selection due to MPs resigning from their parties.
Breakdown of MPs in 50-seat TRNC Parliamentary
Party Seats
National Unity Party (UBP) 23
Republican Turkish Party (CTP) 18
Democratic Party (DP) 2
Rebirth Party (YDP) 2
Independents 4
Vacant 1
Üstel now heads a smaller UBP–DP coalition, following YDP’s departure from government in September and the resignations of Hasan Tosunoğlu from DP last year and İzlem Gürçağ Altuğra from UBP earlier this year. The two governing parties together currently hold 25 seats.
December’s elections will also take place under revised voting rules. MPs have abolished karma oy, or “mixed voting”, which previously allowed electors to select candidates from different parties. Voters can still indicate preferred candidates within their chosen party. The change applies to parliamentary and municipal council elections, while separate votes for mayors, muhtars and local community council members are unaffected.
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TRNC moves towards 6 December double election as MPs scrap ‘mixed vote’ system, 12 Sept. 2026
TRNC General Election 2022: record-breaking number of female MPs in North Cyprus Parliament, 26 Jan. 2022
TRNC General Election 2022: UBP emerge as the largest party but short of a majority, 24 Jan 2022
