Turkish Cypriot president rejects federation debate days before election

NICOSIA

Turkish Cypriot President and presidential candidate Ersin Tatar has expressed his opposition to running election campaigns around the idea of a federation on the ethnically divided island, insisting instead on a two-state solution just days before the vote.

Turkish Cypriots will head to the polls on Oct. 19 for the first round of the presidential election. Among the eight contenders, incumbent Tatar and Tufan Erhürman — who advocates for a federation model on the island — are seen as the frontrunners.

For years, both Türkiye's and Tatar’s administrations have supported a two-state solution for the island, rejecting the federation model sought by the Greek Cypriot side.

Consequently, the campaign discourse has largely revolved around whether the future of Turkish Cyprus should lie in a two-state arrangement or a federation, and around its ties with Türkiye.

Speaking to daily Hürriyet, Tatar stressed that the Turkish Cypriot people stand at a crossroads with this election.

He warned that a federation with the Greek Cypriots would mean an end to Türkiye’s guarantor status and the withdrawal of Turkish troops, adding, “We will never allow that — Türkiye is our only guarantee.”

“I am fighting against those who want to drive Türkiye out of the island,” Tatar said, arguing that under a federation, Turkish Cyprus would end up in a situation similar to Gaza or Ukraine.

Tatar dismissed Erhürman’s claim that he could persuade the Turkish government to support a federal model as unrealistic.

“I have spent the past five years promoting Turkish Cyprus,” Tatar said, adding that the country became an observer member of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) and participated in three summits under its own flag.

“During an OTS summit, I even told Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who is also an observer member from the EU, ‘You appeared in the same photo as me — this could cause trouble for you in the EU.’ He replied, ‘I am of Turkic descent; nothing will happen,’” Tatar said.

“If we return to a federation with the Greek Cypriots, all this struggle will be rendered meaningless. They will say, ‘Turkish Cypriots do not want independence.’ It would be a great pity after all this effort.”

Meanwhile, the Turkish Cypriot parliament has passed a motion titled “Two-State Solution to the Cyprus Issue” with a majority vote. The resolution, adopted with 29 votes in favor in the 50-seat chamber, declares that “the era of pursuing a federation with Greek Cypriots has ended and a two-state solution is to be embraced.” Opposition lawmakers boycotted the vote.