More than 218,000 Turkish Cypriot voters are expected to cast their ballots today, Sunday 19 October, in elections being held in the occupied north of Cyprus to elect a new leader of the Turkish Cypriot community.
A total of 777 polling stations opened at 8:00am and will close at 6:00pm. For the first time, the counting process will be conducted electronically, with final results anticipated between 8:00 and 9:00pm this evening.
Seven candidates are vying for the leadership, but the race is widely seen as a two-man contest between incumbent Ersin Tatar, backed by the National Unity Party (UBP), and Tufan Erhürman, leader of the Republican Turkish Party (CTP). Tatar is a proponent of a two-state solution, while Erhürman supports a federal settlement to the Cyprus problem.
The remaining five candidates, who are not considered serious contenders, include:
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Osman Zorba (Cyprus Socialist Party)
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Arif Salih Kirdag (independent)
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Ahmet Boran (independent)
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Mehmet Hasgüler (independent)
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İbrahim Yazıcı (independent)
Independent candidate Hüseyin Gürlek announced his withdrawal from the race on Saturday night, though his name remains on the ballot paper.
According to recent polling, the contest is expected to be extremely tight. Should no candidate secure more than 50% of the vote, a second-round runoff will be held next Sunday, 26 October.