Opposition Turkish Cypriot leadership election candidate Tufan Erhurman and former Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci both accused the north’s ‘prime minister’ Unal Ustel of misinformation on Thursday, after Ustel had said a federal solution to the Cyprus problem would mean the end of Turkey’s guarantees on the island.

“I want to believe that someone forced Ustel to say this, and that as someone who has been involved in politics in this country for many years, he knows it is wrong … It is not a difference of opinion, it is simply deeply wrong. It is as wrong as saying two plus two equals five,” Erhurman said.

He added that what Ustel had said is “so wrong that it does not need an explanation”.

“The whole problem is that after causing the Turkish Cypriot people five whole years of loss, they are attempting to build their future on those mistakes, this ignorance, or this amateur manipulation,” he said.

Meanwhile, Akinci said that “if those claiming to govern the Turkish Cypriot community were to bother to review the treaty of guarantee”, they would “understand that the opposite” of what Ustel had claimed “is the case”.

“If they read it, they would see that the treaty of guarantee encompasses the independence, territorial integrity, and constitutional order of Cyprus. Therefore, these statements are either a product of ignorance or a distortion for electoral purposes,” he said.

He added that Ustel’s statements “need to be corrected”, and that “election periods should be a time of enlightenment, not deception, for the public”.

Ustel had said that “we know very well that there is no security without Turkish guarantee and there is no future for the Turkish Cypriots without security”, adding that “guarantee equals a two-state solution”.

“I address those who still advocate for a federation today. Federation means the absence of a guarantor, and for the Turkish Cypriots, the absence of a guarantor means annihilation. It is no longer possible to deceive our people with these dreams. This path would leave the Turkish Cypriots without a guarantor and without security,” he said.

He added, “Turkey’s guarantee of the honourable future of the Turkish Cypriots will never be abandoned”, and that “this is only possible with a two-state solution”.

Those comments came after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had on Tuesday been asked to comment on the Turkish Cypriot leadership election.

He had told reporters that “the TRNC is our brother” and that “we consider the rights and interests of the TRNC to be our own”.

“We will not allow anyone to encroach on this,” he added, before highlighting what he described as “guarantor rights legitimately recognised under international law and United Nations resolutions”.

“These rights ensure the existence of the TRNC and its maritime jurisdiction areas in the eastern Mediterranean, regardless of which political party comes to power,” he said.

Supporters of incumbent Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar construed these statements as a message of support for him, though supporters of Erhurman took a different view.

Turkish Cypriot Kyrenia mayor Murat Senkul, who belongs to Erhurman’s party the CTP, said that “I interpret Erdogan’s statements regarding the elections in Cyprus as a sign of respect and trust in the Turkish Cypriots’ desire for change”.

“Change will also be very beneficial to relations between the Republic of Turkey and the TRNC,” he said.

The election will take place on October 19, with Tatar advocating for a two-state solution to the Cyprus problem, and Erhurman advocating for a return to negotiations based on a federal solution.