Former Turkish Cypriot president blamed over bribery

NICOSIA

The former Turkish Cypriot prime minister has blamed the president for the latest bribery scandal that has rocked the politics of the northern part of the island.

“Unfortunately, Derviş Eroğlu got involved again in this incident. Just as he has showed up in every National Union Party (UBP) congress, he played an active role in the toppling of our government and in the forming of a new government,” the ex-prime minister told Anatolia news agency.

A Democratic Party-National Forces (DP – UG) deputy claimed that another deputy from his party and the leader of his party had paid him a bribe of $7,700 for his affirmative vote on the new coalition government and to resign from his deputyship.

“There is no explanation for a two-week-old government being shaken on the day it was poised to get a vote of confidence,” Küçük said, calling on the new government to step down. The former prime minister said he saw the new government as a business enterprise and a “dollar government.”

Meanwhile, the head of the Democratic Party-National Forces (DP-UG), Serdar Denktaş, who has been accused of giving bribe to Aslanbaba, said he did not expect “this much” from him. “Our friends wanted to help Aslanbaba but it seems that there is a bigger plot and eventually he [Aslanbaba] made a show,” Denktaş said.

The row between Denktaş and Aslanbaba reportedly erupted after Aslanbaba was unable to run for general elections on July 28. Aslanbaba, who was a former UBP member, became a DP-UG party member two weeks ago on the condition of “being a candidate” in the elections. He claimed that Denktaş had prevented his candidacy even though he had previously committed to it.