Turkish Cyprus: there will not be a runoff election

Turkish Cypriots went to the polls for the fourth time in less than 18 months Sunday in a presidential election set to reiterate their support for moves to reunite the ethnically divided island. Pro-reunification Prime Minister Mehmet Ali Talat is the favorite to succeed veteran hawk &to=http:// english.pravda.ru/main/2002/11/12/39404.html ' target=_blank>Rauf Denktash, who is retiring after more than 30 years at the helm of the breakaway Turkish Cypriot enclave in the north of the Mediterranean island. Turkey, the only country to recognize the breakaway north, has a major stake in the outcome as Ankara fears lack of progress on &to=http:// english.pravda.ru/world/2002/11/25/39930.html ' target=_blank>Cyprus peace moves could hamper its own bid to start European Union entry talks in October. Nine candidates are standing, and the frontrunner must win more than half the votes to avoid a second ballot. But campaigning has been low-key with only Talat's Republican Turkish Party holding rallies -- a sharp contrast with the feverish atmosphere before last year's island-wide referendum on a U.N. peace plan, publishes Reuters. With votes from 96 percent of the 577 ballot boxes tallied, Talat received 55 percent, while rival Dervis Eroglu received 23 percent. Because Talat garnered more than 50 percent of the vote, there will not be a runoff election. The voting was to replace Rauf Denktash, the hard-liner who, for decades, opposed efforts to unite the war-divided island. Eroglu is largely regarded as favoring Denktash's hard-line stance. Talat wants to start new reunification talks with &to=http:// english.pravda.ru/main/2002/11/12/39404.html ' target=_blank>Greek Cypriots so the Turkish-occupied north will not be excluded from benefits of the island's membership in the EU, reports ABC News. NR

Join Pravda.ru forum. Registration is free and simple