Premier takes early lead in Cyprus elections

Early results indicated pro-EU Premier Mehmet Ali Talat was leading the presidential ballot today in the breakaway Turkish Cypriot state with 57% of the votes counted.

With votes from almost a third of the 577 ballot boxes tallied, Talat’s main rival, Dervis Eroglu had 21%, followed by Mustafa Arabacioglu, who had 15%, according to official results.