Kingmaker Turkish Cypriot leader sets 500,000 liras worth clauses to prevent his MPs switching parties

NICOSIA - Hürriyet

Serdar Denktaş Denktaş said his party would join the government in all cases except for a possible grand coalition between the CTP-BG and UBP. AA photo

The leader of the Democrat Party (DP) who became the kingmaker to determine the new cabinet after securing 12 seats by coming third during last week’s elections in Turkish Cyprus, has found a rather curious way to avoid losing his leverage with his deputies switching to the leading parties. 
 
Serdar Denktaş, who is also the son of late former President Rauf Denktaş, told reporters during a press conference Aug. 2 that his 12 deputies had signed promissory notes before the elections agreeing that they would only move to another party if they paid a clause of 500,000 Turkish Liras.
 
“Myself included, all 50 [DP] candidates have signed such promissory clauses. Our candidates have stated in front of the public notary that they have no intention of leaving the party. The reason is not mistrust. It’s a decision that we have taken as a party,” Denktaş said, noting that after previous elections many of their deputies had changed their party affiliation after earning their seat in the 50-member Parliament. 
 
The opposition Turkish Party – United Front (CTP-BG), headed by Özkan Yorgancıoğlu, won the elections with 38,49 percent of the vote. It has 21 seats and needs a coalition to establish a government. The National Union Party (UBP) which came second has 14 seats.
 
Denktaş said his party would join the government in all cases except for a possible grand coalition between the CTP-BG and UBP. The latter option seems less probable as CTP-BG has based its election campaign on a strong criticism of the former UBP government.