With all but two candidates now eliminated from the election, and the two remaining ones having diametrically opposed visions for this country, the decision before us is now simple, and crystal clear. If you still want a reunified Cyprus, you must vote for Mustafa Akıncı on Sunday. If you don’t, then Ersin Tatar is your man. In this second round, there are two very distinct futures on offer for the Turkish Cypriot people.
This election could turn out to be instrumental for the future of the Turkish Cypriots, and it seems to be a crossroads. Never have the calls to abandon hope of reunification been louder, yet seldom have pro-reunification campaigners been so vehement in their insistence on it. Next week is not simply about one man or another, but about the whole political direction of the Turkish Cypriots, for the next five years and possibly much longer.
In reality, it was always going to come to this. A battle between the President and the Prime Minister, two people whose ideologies are locked in direct competition for the future of this people, and two politicians who absolutely loathe each other. Sure, Tufan Erhürman put up a decent campaign and inspired a large chunk of the youth to vote for him, but this election seemed destined to be about Akıncı versus Tatar, Mr. Federation versus Mr. Two-State-Solution.
The task now, for both of them, is to convince those who voted for other candidates, and the historically high number of people who chose not to vote, that their vision is the right vision. Akıncı should have no problem hoovering up the majority of Tufan Erhürman’s votes, which could get him to 50% of the vote as it is. Tatar will in all probability have to convince the large part of everyone else’s voters if he is to win. Will he be able to? It seems like a mammoth task from here, but given the right-of-centre nature of most of the other candidates, and the fact that yesterday’s election had the lowest turnout in history, it may be doable.
The war of words has begun – Akıncı took aim at Ankara, and Tatar fired back at Akıncı
A simple binary political contest such as the one we have before us has the potential to descend into animosity, and given the bad blood between these two, it was almost inevitable. In their speeches last night, the war of words began. Akıncı took aim at Ankara for making “interventions” in the election in Tatar’s favour, and Tatar fired back at Akıncı, accusing him of acting like he had won the contest when he had in fact placed second. We have a bitter week of campaigning ahead of us, but if it is possible I implore the rest of you to try to keep it civil. Yes, both candidates and their supporters are strong-willed and unmoving in their support for what they believe in, but whether we like it or not one of these candidates will be elected President at the end of this week. We owe it to each other and to ourselves to be magnanimous towards one another.
In contrast to what we have just experienced, this race is now a sprint rather than a marathon. The two candidates now have just five days to convince undecided voters and hoover up whatever votes they can. It’ll be an interesting few days of politics, as what has been a slow-burning battle now quickly becomes a last-minute bun fight for any and all undecided voters.
Despite being wrong a week ago, I suppose I shall indulge myself in another prediction. Had you told me a week ago that Akıncı and Tatar would be in the second round together, I would have believed that Akıncı had it in the bag, but momentum is a funny thing in politics. I didn’t think Tatar was going to place first last night, and the Greek Cypriot fascist mob entering the buffer zone and starting fires in Derinya last night may be worth a per cent or two to him next week too.
Akıncı needs Erhürman’s supporters to vote, as expected, almost unanimously for him next week, and he may need a few votes from somewhere else, too. I still, however, believe he will manage to scrape a victory next Sunday and be re-elected. It is set to be a very close race.
