Tufan Erhurman, leader of the Republican Turkish Party (CTP), opened a commanding early lead in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus’ presidential election as preliminary tallies came in Sunday, according to Anadolu Agency.
With 735 of 777 ballot boxes counted, Erhurman had 62.8% of the vote. Incumbent President Ersin Tatar trailed with 35.77%, the Supreme Election Board reported.
Polling ran from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. local time (0500–1500 GMT) at 777 stations across the country, which has 218,313 eligible voters, according to Anadolu .
Tatar is running as an independent, while Erhurman is the CTP’s nominee. Other candidates include independents Mehmet Hasguler, Arif Salih Kirdag, Ahmet Boran, and Ibrahim Yazici, as well as Osman Zorba of the Cyprus Socialist Party. Huseyin Gurlek, whose name remains on the ballot, announced Saturday he withdrew in favor of Tatar.
If a candidate gets more than 50% of the vote in the first round, they are elected straight away, according to TRNC rules. If no one crosses that threshold, the top two advance to a runoff within seven days. Final results will be certified by the Supreme Election Board.
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