The ongoing political crisis in the north is set to retake centre stage on Monday, with ‘parliament’ due to convene, but the ruling coalition and opposition still unable to disagree on whether a ‘parliament speaker’ has been elected.
The ruling coalition insists that Ziya Ozturkler, who belongs to ruling coalition party the UBP, was elected as ‘speaker’ during a vote held among ‘MPs’ last month, receiving 26 votes in his favour and 23 votes to reject him
However, the opposition claims three of the votes counted by the ‘government’ as having been in his favour were actually invalid as the ballot papers had been stamped multiple times.
If the three votes were declared invalid, Ozturkler would not be able to become ‘speaker’, given the precedent set by the north’s ‘attorney-general’s’ office’s rejection of Zorlu Tore’s claim that he had been elected ‘speaker’ after failing to win more votes in favour than against.
Opposition party the CTP and independent ‘MP’ Jale Refik Rogers have thus far refused to attend any ‘parliament’ meeting chaired by Ozturkler and will likely refuse to do so again on Monday, and as such it is not exactly clear what will happen if Ozturkler and the rest of the ruling coalition insist he be ‘speaker’ based on the vote which was held.
The ruling coalition’s insistence on him has spread to Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar, who met Ozturkler in his “official capacity”, as he described it, on Thursday. Tatar had earlier accused CTP leader Tufan Erhurman of “causing chaos”, and criticised Erhurman’s assertion that a coup was being staged in the north’s ‘parliament’.
However, Tatar’s sureness on the matter may not have spread to Ankara. It was notable on Friday that when Turkey’s Environment Minister Murat Kurum travelled to the north, he did not meet Ozturkler, despite it being customary that visiting Turkish ministers meet the north’s ‘parliament speaker’ while on the island.
Another of the main protagonists in the ongoing deadlock is ‘prime minister’ Unal Ustel, who underwent abdominal surgery on Saturday. He is expected to be discharged from hospital on Monday, with doctors describing the surgery as “successful”.
This crisis has now been ongoing for four weeks, with a total of 15 votes having been held in ‘parliament’ with the hope of electing a ‘speaker’ and the ruling coalition having nominated three different candidates during that time.
The CTP has since the crisis began demanded that ‘parliamentary’ elections be held to resolve it, but the ruling coalition and Ersin Tatar have both been of the opinion that elections are not necessary, with ‘agriculture minister’ Huseyin Cavus being the latest to reaffirm that position on Sunday.
