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Eroğlu claims Ertuğruloğlu will tip election in Talat’s favor
Pro-reunification Talat and hard-liner Eroğlu both applied to the Higher Election Board of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (KKTC) to officially register their candidacy on Friday.
Ertuğruloğlu, who declared his candidacy in the April 18 elections late on Thursday following a visit to Turkey and lengthy talks with Eroğlu, registered his candidacy later in the day. There were seven independent candidates in total who were registered as of Saturday, including Talat and Ertuğruloğlu. Only Eroğlu is running as his party’s candidate.
Campaigning in Girme (Kyrenia) on Saturday, Eroğlu said Ertuğruloğlu’s candidacy was “unacceptable,” recalling that Ertuğruloğlu had been among the UBP members who lent support to Eroğlu’s candidacy. “[Ertuğruloğlu] has emerged as a ‘wild card’ for Talat due to motivations by some circles,” Eroğlu said without elaborating, the Anatolia news agency reported.
“There are some circles who want to prevent him from being elected in the first round,” he added.
Analysts say Ertuğruloğlu’s candidacy is likely to erode support for Eroğlu and thus may pave the way for Talat’s victory. The Turkish government has declared that it does not favor any of the candidates, but Talat’s re-election is likely to be the preferred outcome for Ankara, which wants a settlement to be reached on the divided island, something observers say hard-liner Eroğlu is unlikely to push for.
Last week, when asked to comment on expectations that Ertuğruloğlu’s candidacy would reduce votes for Eroğlu, Talat said that was not a foregone conclusion. “Anyone can be a candidate, and Mr. Ertuğruloğlu became a candidate,” he told reporters after submitting his official application to the election board. “He could divide the votes for Eroğlu or for me. We will see what his candidacy will lead to.” On Saturday Ertuğruloğlu challenged both Eroğlu and Talat, saying he is running for the presidency because he believes he would be a better president than either of them, Anatolia reported.
At a press conference in Lefkoşa, Ertuğruloğlu was asked whether he had declared his candidacy because he wanted to become president or because he wanted to prevent Eroğlu from becoming president. Ertuğruloğlu answered that “those who know [him] should also know that [he] wouldn’t engage in those kinds of trivial politics,” adding, “I took this road because I believe that I will perform better as a president than both Mr. Mehmet Ali Talat and Mr. Derviş Eroğlu.”
Expectations that Ertuğruloğlu’s candidacy will undermine support for Eroğlu have raised speculation that Ertuğruloğlu was encouraged by the Turkish government to increase the likelihood of Talat’s re-election. Last week, Eroğlu dismissed the suggestions, saying, “Ankara is out of this.” He said the fact that Ertuğruloğlu had been in Ankara for talks before declaring his candidacy was irrelevant because he himself had also visited Ankara recently.
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