Erhurman on the fence over whether to run for Turkish Cypriot leader

Turkish Cypriot opposition party CTP leader Tufan Erhurman on Monday said he had not yet decided whether or not he will run in next year’s Turkish Cypriot leadership elections.

Speaking to newspaper Yeni Duzen, he said, “I do not have either a definite ‘no’, nor a definite ‘yes’.”

“This is something related to the CTP’s traditions. Whatever the party decides, we will act accordingly,” he said.

Erhurman ran as the CTP’s candidate in the 2020 Turkish Cypriot leadership elections, finishing in third place with 22 per cent of the vote, before endorsing then incumbent Mustafa Akinci in the second round.

Were he not to run in 2025, it would be the first time the CTP had not put forward a candidate for a Turkish Cypriot leadership election since 1990.

Other potential candidates have already begun to prepare themselves for their election bids, with incumbent Ersin Tatar saying last month he is “building up to” a likely bid for re-election.

Meanwhile, Serdar Denktash, son of late Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash, confirmed to the Cyprus Mail last year he will stand for election.

Turkish Cypriot Nicosia mayor Mehmet Harmanci looks likely to run, having said in January “it is not possible for a politician who received 49 per cent of the votes to stay only with the Nicosia Turkish Municipality.”

“In the long run, seeing it this way is a very narrow view. One needs to evolve into other political spheres. I am aware of the responsibility society gave me with 49 per cent of the vote,” he said.

With Harmanci looking likely to run, Erhurman may be wary of splitting the left-wing vote, though it is likely that if one of the pair reached the election’s second round, the other would endorse them.