DUBBED the ‘Jasmine Group’, a six-man delegation representing 78 Turkish Cypriot politicians, businessmen and individuals yesterday met with Interior Minister Andreas Christou in a bid to reinstate the rights of Turkish Cypriots to vote and be voted for in elections in the Republic of Cyprus.
“We want the right to stand in elections and vote as stated in the 1960 Constitution,” Jasmine’s main spokesman and former head of the north’s Chamber of Commerce Ali Erel told reporters after yesterday’s 45-minute meeting with Christou.
Turkish Cypriots have not voted in elections in the Republic of Cyprus since a constitutional crisis in 1963, when a power-sharing administration collapsed in ethnic bloodshed just three years after the island won independence from Britain.
The recognised Republic, along with its voting mechanisms, continued to function with participation only from Greek Cypriots.
Erel gave Interior Minister Andreas Christou a petition yesterday, saying Turkish Cypriots should be allowed to vote and stand for election in the May 21 parliamentary ballot in the south.
“Our aim is to return Cyprus to its bicommunal nature,” said Erel.
Under the original Constitution, 35 members of the unicameral House of Representatives were to be Greek Cypriots and 15 Turkish Cypriots. By law, there are separate electoral registers for members of each community.
A Turkish Cypriot living in the south recently won a ruling in the European Court of Human Rights that the Cypriot electoral system was discriminatory.
The Cypriot government hase since modified the law to allow Turkish
Cypriots living in the government-controlled areas to vote.
The House of Representatives is currently comprised of 56 Greek Cypriot deputies. Turkish Cypriots have not set foot in the building since 1963, and their specially allocated entrance has been bolted shut since then.
After yesterday’s meeting with Christou, Erel said he and his group had “very good relations with the minister, but we did not get a hint of what the outcome of our application will be. He has promised to reply.”
“We want to start a new process of rapprochement,” he added.
Turkish Cypriot daily Afrika, however, warned the group could seek legal action against the Cypriot government if their request did not meet with a positive response.
“If the demands are not met, legal attempts could be made to have the election cancelled,” the paper wrote.
