The Republican Turkish Party (CTP) heads on Sunday to its extraordinary electoral Congress, with three candidates vying for the party leadership, following Tufan Erhürman’s resignation after being elected as leader of the Turkish Cypriot community on October 19.
The party congress to elect a new leader will begin at 9am on Sunday, November 30, before which the candidates held a series of speeches and tours in the north.
The contenders’ messages
Sıla Usar İncirli presents a “collective and participatory” political model, Erkut Şahali places alliances and reforms at the centre, while Asım Akansoy emphasises left-wing identity and a strengthening of the organisational base. The contest is considered crucial for the direction, political priorities, and role of CTP in the period ahead where pressure will rise for early elections to decide the next ruling party in the north.
İncirli: Democracy in the party and early elections
In an interview with the Turkish Cypriot newspaper Yeni Düzen, Nicosia ‘MP’ Sıla Usar İncirli stressed she does not consider “the CTP as a leader-driven party but as a party of cadres, where all members are equal and where cooperation, collectivity, and the utilisation of experienced human resources are priorities.”
İncirli promised that, if elected, she will seek to strengthen the CTP’s connection with society: through greater participation from various segments of society, improvement of intra-party democracy, and greater visibility and activation of members and young cadres.
On the economy, she argued that when CTP comes to power, it should focus on combatting the “undeclared economy” and strengthening production, with the goal of reinforcing the Turkish Cypriot economic base rather than relying on imports.
At the same time, İncirli left open the possibility of calling for early ‘parliamentary’ elections’, estimating that “the public’s patience with the current government has run out,” and that CTP is ready to apply political pressure for elections in the first period of 2026.
Şahali commits to cooperation and reforms
The new period for CTP must be marked by taking full responsibility for the “administration of northern Cyprus,” through a policy that includes all social groups, said Erkut Şahali, the party’s general secretary and candidate for leader, in his interview with Yeni Düzen.
He stressed that CTP must align itself immediately with ‘governmental’ actions, since, as he said, there is no longer time for divisive delays. He referred to his political and administrative experience and emphasized that he has gone through crises in which he managed to deliver results at both party and ‘state’ level.
Şahali described himself as a social democrat faithful to CTP’s values and charter. He criticised the lack of “organisational dynamism,” proposing to train cadres based on the party’s founding principles while strengthening its organisational structure and numbers.
Regarding alliances, he said he does not support parallel formations but is ready to cooperate with political forces that accept CTP’s policy as a common framework, leaving open the possibility of political collaborations under a CTP umbrella.
In the event of a CTP administration, he proposed five key initial actions: a population census, public service reform, revision of ‘citizenship legislation’, strengthening the budget, and immediate payments to municipal authorities to ensure local authority functionality.
Akansoy promises left-wing identity and collective functioning
CTP ‘deputy’ and party leader candidate Asım Akansoy emphasised left-wing identity, collective functioning, and the institutional strengthening of CTP.
Also speaking to Yeni Düzen, he stressed the party’s fundamental principles – its left-wing orientation, support for a federal solution, European path, and commitment to democracy and human rights – must not be altered. He noted that politics cannot be based on personal relationships, but on principles and party discipline.
He identified organisational weaknesses, saying CTP must strengthen collectivity and stop functioning based on the decisions of a few cadres. He called for the creation of a “political laboratory” to generate a unified discourse and emphasised the need to institutionalise policy-making so that the party gains coherence and a stronger structure.
On the economy, he highlighted 10 priorities, the most important being the signing of a “monetary union” protocol with Turkey, which, he argued, is necessary to limit inflation caused by the depreciation of the Turkish Lira. On the issue of ‘naturalisations’, he called for radical reform and a review of all those granted ‘citizenship’ in the past five years, nullifying those “not in accordance with the law”.
His priorities also include strengthening social policies and addressing problems faced by the private sector.
Regarding the possibility of early elections, he said this “will not come from parliament, but from the street,” adding that only social pressure can impose political developments. Akansoy noted that his 35 years’ experience, service in the labour and interior portfolio of governance, and his “skill in restoring internal party relations” made him a strong candidate for the party leadership.