2003 Northern Cypriot parliamentary election explained

Election Name:2003 Northern Cypriot parliamentary election
Country:Northern Cyprus
Previous Election:1998
Next Election:2005
Election Date:15 December 2003
Seats For Election:50 seats in the Assembly of the Republic
Majority Seats:26
Ongoing:no
Party1:Republican Turkish Party
Leader1:Mehmet Ali Talat
Percentage1:35.2
Seats1:19
Last Election1:6
Party2:National Unity Party (Northern Cyprus)
Leader2:Derviş Eroğlu
Percentage2:32.9
Seats2:18
Last Election2:24
Party3:Democratic Party (Northern Cyprus)
Leader3:Serdar Denktaş
Percentage3:12.9
Seats3:7
Last Election3:13
Party4:BDH
Colour4:
  1. 000099
Leader4:Mustafa Akıncı
Percentage4:13.1
Seats4:6
Last Election4:new
Prime Minister
Before Election:Derviş Eroğlu
Before Party:National Unity Party (Northern Cyprus)
After Election:Derviş Eroğlu
After Party:National Unity Party (Northern Cyprus)

Parliamentary elections were held in Northern Cyprus on 15 December 2003.[1] Having come fourth in the 1998 elections, the Republican Turkish Party emerged as the largest party in the Assembly of the Republic, winning 19 of the 50 seats.[1]

Electoral system

Northern Cyprus is divided into five constituencies, electing a total of 50 members of the Assembly by proportional representation.[1] Voters can cast as many votes in their district as there are seats.[1]

Aftermath

Under the Turkish Cypriot constitution, the members of the new parliament must gather to be sworn in 10 days after the results are officially published. Soon after this first session, President Rauf Denktaş had to decide whom to ask building a government. As a result he asked Mehmet Ali Talat of the Republican Turkish Party (CTP) to form the next government. Talat had 15 days to establish a coalition government. It was hard for him to build a government. The two blocs in the parliament, the "pro Annan plan" bloc and the "status quo" bloc, each had 25 seats in parliament. The National Unity Party refused Talat's offer to build a government together, and as a result the only way to build a government for Talat was to get the Democratic Party (DP) to join his government. After some unsuccessful talks, the DP agreed to build a coalition with the CTP. As a result a coalition relying on a narrow majority of 26 out of 50 seats was built.

Notes and References

  1. http://psephos.adam-carr.net/countries/n/northcyprus/northcyprus2003.txt Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus: Legislative elections of 15 December 2003