In his first remarks following his defeat in the Turkish Cypriot leadership elections, outgoing leader Ersin Tatar acknowledged the outcome while attributing his loss to both internal issues and external interference. Speaking to Kıbrıs TV, Tatar said he respected the “judgement of the voter”, but also cited a number of contributing factors that, in his view, influenced the result.
“We must respect the judgement of the voter,” Tatar said, while defending his record during his five-year tenure. “I served tirelessly for five years. I introduced a new policy. Our relationship with the Republic of Turkey is well known and I leave behind achievements.”
Blame cast on Greek Cypriots
Analysing the reasons for his loss, Tatar claimed there had been “attacks from the Greek Cypriot side” and referred to the property issue, among other concerns he believes shaped the vote. He made specific reference to his proposal to open two new crossing points, in Mia Milia and Louroujina, claiming there had been propaganda against him for “failing to open even one”.
He also alleged that queues created by the Greek Cypriot side at the Agios Dometios crossing were used to shift blame onto him by the electorate.
Tatar went on to say that “external factors, especially from southern Cyprus and the EU, all together” played a role in the outcome. “It is clear that certain kinds of support [for my opponent] came in. We didn’t see them, but they came, and hope was channelled.”
Questions over party support
“I ran as an independent candidate with the support of three parties. When I look at the initial results, there’s a problem. These three parties worked, but their total vote share is much higher than what I received. This means there were inter-party and intra-party issues that were reflected in the results,” he added.
When asked about his future plans, Tatar said: “At the moment, I haven’t decided anything. I need a period of rest. Then we’ll see.” He concluded by congratulating the winner, Tufan Erhürman.