Overview

• Roughly 218,000 voters cast ballots on Sunday in the Turkish‑controlled north, with polls closing at 1500 GMT and results expected later in the evening.
• Seven candidates are on the ballot, though the contest centers on incumbent Ersin Tatar and challenger Tufan Erhürman, whom surveys show in a tight race.
• Tatar backs a permanent two‑state outcome and closer political, economic and social alignment with Turkey, echoing President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s call for international recognition.
• Erhürman advocates returning to UN‑brokered negotiations for a bi‑zonal, bi‑communal federation and criticizes the past five years as a lost opportunity for talks.
• If no candidate wins more than 50% of the vote, a runoff is scheduled for Oct. 26, 2025; the stakes are high for the long‑stalled peace process on an island divided since 1974 and recognized in the north only by Turkey.