Occupied Cyprus fails to elect new House Speaker

Efforts to elect a new ‘parliamentary president’ in the Turkish-occupied north of Cyprus stalled on Monday, as multiple rounds of voting ended in deadlock. The ‘parliament’ is set to reconvene Tuesday morning to attempt another vote.

Two candidates from the National Unity Party (UBP) were in the running: current ‘parliament president’ Zorlu Töre and former ‘prime minister’ Faiz Sucuoğlu. Töre led with 13 votes during the internal party process, surpassing Sucuoğlu, who reportedly had the backing of ‘prime minister’ Ünal Üstel.

Despite repeated attempts, Töre failed to secure the necessary majority in the ‘parliament’ on Monday, prompting the UBP to withdraw his candidacy. The party then nominated former ‘interior minister’ Kutlu Evren, but he too fell short of winning the position.

The inability to elect a ‘parliamentary president’ drew criticism from opposition leader Tufan Erhürman, who accused the UBP of lacking the will to govern. Erhürman claimed the ruling party is focused solely on power and called for early ‘elections.’

[information sourced from CNA]