- Incumbent Derviş Eroğlu will face off against independent Mustafa Akıncı in a second round of voting for the Turkish Cypriot leadership after a close first round, official figures showed April 19.
Turkish Cypriots are voting for a leader who will head peace talks with the Greek Cypriots on the divided east Mediterranean island.
With all ballot papers counted after April 19’s first round, Eroğlu, president of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), leads with 28.2 percent of votes cast, with Akinci chasing close behind at 26.9 percent.
Turnout was 62.3 percent, official figures showed.
None of the seven candidates secured the required 50 percent of the vote to win outright, as expected.
Third was the sole woman candidate, Sibel Siber, the head of parliament and a former prime minister. She won 22.5 percent of votes cast.
The race is now between Eroğlu and Akıncı, a former mayor of northern Nicosia.
“We are going to live in peace,” said an optimistic Akıncı, whose symbol is an olive branch, after the count.
“Past generations suffered a lot. People from both communities have shared suffering,” he said.
About 176,000 people are eligible to vote in the TRNC.
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