Turkey has officially responded to the outcome of the Turkish Cypriot leadership elections, with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan extending his congratulations to Tufan Erhürman, who was elected as the new leader of the Turkish Cypriot community.
In a public statement, Erdoğan described the election as a reflection of the “democratic maturity” of the 'Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC)', and a clear expression of the will of the Turkish Cypriot people at the ballot box.
“I congratulate Mr Tufan Erhürman… I wish that this election, which once again demonstrates the democratic maturity possessed by the TRNC and reflects the will of our Turkish Cypriot brothers and sisters, be auspicious for our countries and our region,” Erdoğan stated.
He also reaffirmed Turkey’s commitment to the breakaway entity, vowing continued support on international platforms.
"As Türkiye, we will continue to defend the sovereignty rights and interests of the TRNC together with our Turkish Cypriot brothers and sisters on every possible platform.”
'Join the Republic of Turkey'
Erhürman won the elections with 62.76% of the votes, in a landslide victory over incumbent Ersin Tatar who secured 35.81%. Turkey fully supported Tatar's election bid and openly interfered in the campaign.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s nationalist ally, Devlet Bahceli, said that the fate of Turkish Cypriots cannot be represented by this participation. He called for the northern Cyprus parliament to convene immediately and “declare that the election results and the return to federation are unacceptable, and decide to join the Republic of Turkey,” he said in a statement on X.
'Motherland to stand by TRNC'
Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz was the first senior official in Ankara to comment publicly following the elections. In a message shared via social media, Yılmaz echoed Erdoğan’s sentiments and praised what he called the political maturity of the 'TRNC' and its electorate.
“I hope the presidential elections held today in the TRNC will be beneficial for the Turkish Cypriot people,” he said.
“The elections once again demonstrated the maturity of the TRNC as a state and of its electorate. As motherland and guarantor power, we will always continue to stand by the TRNC and the Turkish Cypriots.”