Turkish Cypriot ‘health minister’ Hakan Dincyurek on Tuesday withdrew the resignation he had tendered on Sunday, declaring that despite previously announcing the opposite, he will, in fact, stand as a candidate for his party, the UBP, in December’s Turkish Cypriot legislative elections.
“Following the discussions, mutual evaluations, and consultations we have held, I would like to share with the public my decisions regarding the roadmap I intend to follow moving forward,” he began.
He added that “just as we have done until now, we will continue on our path, upholding the values in which we believe in and bearing the responsibility entrusted to us by those who have placed their faith in us”.
“Let’s meet at the ballot box on December 6, for the sake of our country, our people, and our party,” he said.
The announcement comes with the deadline for political parties to submit their lists of candidates for December’s elections having passed, with the UBP having published its final list late on Tuesday evening.
‘Parliament speaker’ Ziya Ozturkler had earlier announced that he will be a candidate at December’s election and that “I have no intention of withdrawing”, stressing that “I will continue to fight for the UBP until the very end”, after unconfirmed reports had suggested that party leader and ‘prime minister’ Unal Ustel had been urging him to withdraw from the election.
Ozturkler, Dincyurek both secure places on UBP’s final list
Ozturkler and Dincyurek both appeared on the list, though Ozturkler found himself at the bottom of that list in his home constituency of Morphou. He had been among the 17 people who appealed the result of Saturday’s internal party primary elections, prompting Ustel to remark that that result “it is binding whether we get the desired result or not”.
Additionally, it was reported that Ustel had urged fellow incumbent legislature member Emrah Yesilirmak to withdraw from the race, with Saturday’s result having placed Yesilirmak in a similarly precarious position to Ozturkler, after he was not automatically selected in Trikomo.
Yesilirmak, too, appeared on the final list, but, like Ozturkler, found himself bottom of the list in his home constituency of Trikomo.
The stakes of this election may be higher for both Ozturkler and Yesilirmak than for most, given that investigations have been launched into both men in relation to the “fake diploma scandal”, over which Ustel’s longtime close personal associate Fatma Unal was jailed for five years on Tuesday.
Yesilirmak allegedly received a forged degree certificate, while the police in March having launched an investigation into allegations that Ozturkler coerced university officials to award degree certificates to his political allies under false pretences.
However, on this front, sources close to the matter have suggested to the Cyprus Mail that both men may relocate to Turkey so as to avoid arrest, as former ‘prime minister’ Huseyin Ozgurgun did in 2019.
A total of 17 appeals had been filed against the provisional results of the primary election the UBP held to determine its candidates on Saturday. All 17 appeals were rejected.
Only Karanfil, Canaltay, and Hamzaogullari will not return of current crop
With Ozturkler, Dincyurek, and Yesilirmak all having fond their way onto the party’s list, only two incumbent UBP legislature members are confirmed to have missed out on places on the party’s list.
Firtina Karanfil failed to make the party’s list in Lefka, while Resmiye Canaltay, the daughter of former Turkish Cypriot leader Dervish Eroglu, announced earlier on Tuesday that she had withdrawn her candidacy.
As such, just three of the 49 incumbent members of the Turkish Cypriot legislature will not seek reelection, with opposition party the CTP’s Biray Hamzaogullari having retired.
This news comes after two surprises featured on the ruling coalition’s junior partner the DP’s list, with Hasan Tosunoglu, who had left the party in 2024, topping its list in the Nicosia constituency, and Serhat Akpinar, who had in the same year announced that he would not seek re-election, topping the party’s list in the Kyrenia constituency.
Exactly two people who were elected to the legislature at the last election in 2022 are not incumbent members. One, Tufan Erhurman, resigned his seat last year to become Turkish Cypriot leader, and as such will not stand for election again.
The other, HP leader Kudret Ozersay, resigned his seat just three months after the election in protest at the ruling coalition. He tops his party’s list in the Nicosia constituency.
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