Turkish Cypriots Vote Under Shadow Of Economic Crisis

Nicosia, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 23rd Jan, 2022 ) :Turkish Cypriots cast their ballots on Sunday in a snap legislative election in the breakaway northern third of the Mediterranean island after a campaign dominated by an economic crisis.

The self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) -- recognised only by Ankara -- has been hit hard by the Covid pandemic and the plummeting value of the Turkish lira.

Analysts said there has been a lack of interest in the poll among the roughly 204,000 voters mainly concerned with health, safety and economic welfare.

"Compared to the previous elections in northern Cyprus, there is much less energy and enthusiasm in the air," political scientists Ahmet Sozen and Devrim Sahin wrote on the website of Italian think tank ISPI.

Cyprus has been split since 1974 when Turkish forces occupied the northern part of the island in response to a military coup sponsored by the junta in power in Greece at the time.

Unlike in previous TRNC elections, campaigning this time has focused on the territory's economic woes rather than any talk of a solution to the problem.