Turkish Cypriots to head to ballot boxes for early general election on Jan 7

NICOSIA

Turkish Cypriots will head to the polls on Jan. 7 for early general elections to elect its 50 parliamentary deputies.

Four-hundred candidates from eight parties and nine independent candidates will be competing for the 50 seats in parliament in the vote.

The eight parties running in the election are the National Unity Party (UBP), the Republican Turkish Party (CTP), the Communal Democracy Party (TDP), the Democrat Party (DP), the Peoples’ Party (HP), the Communal Liberation Party-New Forces (TKP-YG), the Nationalist Democracy Party (MDP), and the Renaissance Party (YDP).

An election threshold of five percent is in effect in Turkish Cyprus, where there are 190,551 voters on the electoral roll.

A majority of the deputies (16) will come from the capital Nicosia (Lefkoşa) while Famagusta (Gazimagusa) will be represented by 13 deputies. Kyrenia (Girne) will be represented by 10 deputies, Tricomo (İskele) by five, Morphou (Güzelyurt) by four, and Lefka (Lefke) by two.

The election campaigns of the parties and their candidates are ongoing and are expected to end in the capital Nicosia on the afternoon of Jan. 6.

Since the last general elections held in January 2013, Turkish Cyprus has had three coalition governments led by three different prime ministers.

The current UBP-DP coalition government is headed by Prime Minister Hüseyin Özgürgün.