Turkish Cypriots go to the polls

Turkish Cypriots voted today in crucial parliamentary elections that have become a virtual referendum on a plan to reunify the divided island before it enters the European Union in May.

The outcome of the balloting could also shape relations between the EU and Turkey, which is under intense pressure to help reunify Cyprus.

Early election results showed the votes largely split between two pro-EU parties and two other parties that back a hardline position against UN-sponsored talks on reunifying the island.

According to the High Elections Board, the National Unity Party and the Democrat Party, which both oppose the UN-sponsored reunification plan, had a combined 50.3% of the vote with 24 of the 554 ballot boxes counted.

The pro-EU opposition Republican Turkish Party and the Peace and Democracy Movement, which have vowed to form an alliance if they win, had 44.6% of the vote, according to the early results.

There are also three smaller parties and a coalition seems likely.

The vote comes months ahead of a May deadline when Cyprus – reunited or not - will become a member of the EU. Only the Greek Cypriot south will benefit from EU laws and assistance if the island remains divided.

Hard-liners led by Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash fear that if the island is united the Turkish north will be dominated by the richer and larger Greek Cypriot south.

EU members have said that Turkey must help reunite the island before it can realise its own membership aspirations.

With some 40,000 troops deployed in the north, Turkey would technically be occupying EU soil after Cyprus enters the bloc, they warn.

Turkey’s failure to get a date could lead the country to become alienated from the West at a time when close relations are crucial. Turkey is a key US partner in the war against terrorism and was targeted last month by suicide bombers who killed 62 people in Istanbul.

Some 140,000 people are eligible to vote. About half of the 200,000 people on the Turkish Cypriot side of the island are Turkish settlers who moved to Cyprus after the island’s division in 1974. They are expected to largely oppose reunification.

The opposition has pledged to remove Denktash as chief negotiator in peace talks with Greek Cypriots.

Denktash is not up for re-election until 2005.

The island has been split between a Greek Cypriot south and a Turkish Cypriot north since Turkish troops invaded in 1974 amid intercommunal fighting that left some 3,000 dead and a short-lived coup by supporters of union with Greece.

A strong vote for the opposition would make it easier for Turkish leaders to press to reunite the island.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke of the need to solve the Cyprus problem after coming to power last year. The powerful military, however, considers Cyprus to be of strategic importance and favours Denktash.