Talat down in opinion poll

TURKISH Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat will be ousted by Dervish Eroglu in ‘presidential’ elections next April, according to an opinion poll published at the weekend. Eroglu’s National Unity Party (UBP) won a decisive victory in ‘parliamentary’ elections last April. Eroglu now looks set to take 36 per cent of the vote, with Talat trailing behind with just over 31 per cent. Analysts say an Eroglu victory could hamper efforts to find a solution to the ongoing division of the island. Talat has himself warned that if he is removed from office in April, the chances of Eroglu and President Demetris Christofias reaching a negotiated reunification would be greatly reduced.

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.