TURKISH Cypriot politicians yesterday signed a coalition protocol for a new ‘government’ after a week of intense talks following the collapse of the preceding administration last month.
The National Unity Party and Democratic Party agreed to work together on Monday evening and signed the protocol yesterday morning.
They spent the rest of the morning locked in discussions about sharing out their future responsibilities.
Unconfirmed reports suggest that the NUP, headed by ‘prime minister’ Dervis Eroglu, will control the ‘ministries’ of foreign affairs and defence, finance, agriculture, internal affairs, transport and works and education and culture.
The DP, lead by new ‘deputy prime minister’ Salih Coshar, will be responsible for the economy, labour, youth and sports, health and social security and tourism and environment ‘ministries’.
The economic plight of the north has been cited as one of the main reasons for the collapse of the previous NUP-TKP (Communal Liberation Party) coalition.
Eroglu told a news conference on Monday evening that the economic problems would be addressed as soon as possible, adding that a visit to Turkey would be on the agenda soon after the new administration starts work.
The former coalition also disagreed over approaches to the Cyprus problem. TKP leader Mustafa Akinci yesterday told the Cyprus Mail that he was opposed to Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash’s abandonment of the UN sponsored proximity talks, whereas the NUP said they supported the Turkish Cypriot withdrawal.
The new ‘cabinet’ will be made up of six NUP and four DP members. The details will be presented to Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash today.
The ‘Assembly’ is expected to give the new coalition a vote of confident on Friday.
The NUP occupies 23 seats in the 50-seat Turkish Cypriot ‘Assembly’ and the DP 12.
Otherwise, seven seats belong to the Communal Liberation Party, six to the Republican Turkish Party, one to the Nationalist Justice Party and one is held by an independent.
The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.
