TC ‘prime minister’ delays announcement will run for ‘president’

Turkish Cypriot ‘prime minister’ Ersin Tatar will delay the announcement of his candidacy for the ‘presidential elections’ in the north, Kipris Postasi newspaper reported on Sunday.

He had been expected to make the announcement immediately after the budget for 2020 was passed, which happened on Friday.

Only one person has so far announced he is in the running for the position, president of the Turkish Republican Party (CTP) Tufan Erhurman.

The newspaper said that Tatar’s announcement is now likely to be made at the beginning of the new year. The delay appears to be over controversial plans to develop the Famagusta-Trikomo-Ayios Sergios area.

Also believed to be of importance is signing of a new economic protocol with Turkey, which is due in the middle of January.

The paper also noted that the smaller partner in the current ‘government’ in the north, The People’s Party led by ‘foreign minister’ Kudret Ozersay has said its central committee will make a decision at the end of January.

In a statement later, Tatar said he is led by the needs of his party and his ‘people’ and he will do whatever they tell him to.

The election is due to be held on April 19 next year.

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.