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| Northern Cyprus |
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Presidential elections were held in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus on Sunday April 17, 2005. It followed parliamentary elections in the internationally unrecognised country on February 20, which had been won by the pro-unification Republican Turkish Party (CTP).
It is traditional in Turkish Cypriot presidential elections for political parties to nominate individuals as their candidate, although the number of independents have increased in recent polls. The CTP nominated its leader, Mehmet Ali Talat, who emerged as the clear winner with a 56% share of the vote. The notable absence in this election was the first and (thus far) only president of Northern Cyprus, Rauf Denktaş. He had announced in mid-2004 that he would not be running again.
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System
A candidate needs an absolute majority of valid votes in order to win a Turkish Cypriot presidential election. If no candidate secures the necessary majority, a second round of voting is held between the two top candidates. The candidate with a simple majority in this election is elected to a five-year term as president.
Schedule
The election campaign began on March 22 and will end the day before the election, on April 16. Under rules set out by the High Electoral Committee, public opinion polls cannot be published or broadcast after April 2. Results for the first round are announced a few hours after polls close.
Results
Election results
As published by the Anatolia News Agency on April 18. Results are considered unofficial until published in the Official Gazette.
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share of total vote | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mehmet Ali Talat | Republican Turkish Party | 55,943 | 55.6 | |
| Derviş Eroğlu | National Unity Party (UBP) | 22,869 | 22.73 | |
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Mustafa Abramcıoğlu | Democrat Party (DP) | 13,302 | 13.22 |
| Nuri Çevikel | New Party (YP) | 4816 | 4.79 | |
| Zeki Beşiktepeli | Independent | 1728 | 1.72 | |
| Hüseyin Angolemli | Communal Liberation Party (TKP) | 1054 | 1.05 | |
| Zehra Cengiz | Cyprus Socialist Party | 439 | 0.44 | |
| Arif Salih Kırdağ | Independent | 306 | 0.3 | |
| Ayhan Kaymak | Independent | 168 | 0.17 |
The Turkish Cypriot electoral commission put the turnout at 69.58% - a lower figure than previous presidential elections, which have always been over 80%. It led UBP leader Derviş Eroğlu to question the legitimacy of the election, pointing to the fact that so many voters had decided not to vote in protest.
March 30 public survey
A poll had been conducted between March 23 and March 27 by the Cyprus Social Research and Education Consultancy Centre (KADEM). It found that Mehmet Ali Talat would win an absolute majority in the first round. The poll of 1472 people across North Cyprus put the results as follows:
- Mehmet Ali Talat - 54.9%
- Derviş Eroğlu - 26.8%
- Mustafa Abramcıoğlu - 8.9%
- Hüseyin Angolemli - 2.5%
- Nuri Çevikel - 1.2%
- Zeki Beşiktepeli - 1.5%
- Ayhan Kaymak - 0.6%
- Arif Salih Kırdağ - 0.4%
- Zehra Cengiz - 0.2%
54% of those polled said the election would be finalised in the first round, while 41% said a second round of voting would be required.
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