Tufan Erhurman, leader of the Republican Turkish Party, won the presidential election in the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus on October 19, 2025. He secured 62.7% of the vote in the first round, while incumbent Ersin Tatar received 35.77%. His victory has raised expectations that negotiations on the Cyprus settlement, stalled since 2017, could resume before the end of the year.
After the results were announced, Erhurman’s supporters gathered in the Turkish part of Nicosia chanting “Unity, struggle, solidarity.” The politician himself called for unity and said:
“I will embrace everyone, I promise.”
The election was effectively a clash between two political visions. Erhurman supports a bizonal, bicommunal federation for the island within UN parameters. Tatar, who was openly backed by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, defended a two-state model and sought full international recognition for the island’s northern part.
Cyprus has remained divided since 1974, when Turkey launched a military operation after a coup backed by the Greek junta and took control of about 36% of the island. In 1983, the TRNC was proclaimed in the north and has been recognized only by Ankara. Repeated efforts to restore unity, including the Kofi Annan plan and the Crans-Montana talks, have failed to produce a compromise.
After the vote, Erdogan congratulated the winner and said the election had demonstrated the TRNC’s “democratic maturity.” At the same time, his political ally, Nationalist Movement Party leader Devlet Bahceli, urged the Northern Cyprus parliament not to accept the result and called for the territory to join Turkey.
Erhurman rejected accusations of holding an “anti-Turkish” stance and stressed that the TRNC’s foreign-policy contacts have always been coordinated with Ankara. In the Greek Cypriot south, his victory was greeted as an opportunity for a new phase of dialogue. Greek Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis and Republic of Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides both expressed hope that UN-mediated negotiations could resume soon.
Still, major obstacles remain. The TRNC parliament is controlled by supporters of the two-state formula, while in the south there is still a risk that Greek Cypriots could again reject a reunification plan, as they did in the 2004 referendum.