Incumbent Turkish Cypriot president to seek re-election

The current president of the Turkish Cyprus announced on Feb. 5 that he will contest the 2020 presidential election to be held on April 26.

Mustafa Akıncı told reporters in the capital Lefkoşa that he will run as an independent candidate.

The 72-year-old leader said the most reasonable solution to the decade-long divided Mediterranean island was a bi-communal, bipartite federation.

The best solution to the Cyprus issue "is a solution…based on political equality, where both sides will take part in the decisions and the rotating presidency will take place," he added.

Akıncı was elected as the fourth president of the Turkish Cyprus in April 2015.

Born in 1947 in Limassol, a city on the southern coast of Cyprus, Akıncı is an architecture graduate from one of Turkey's most prestigious universities, the Middle East Technical University.
He was part of the "constituent assembly" in Northern Cyprus established in 1975.

Akıncı was the mayor of Lefkoşa for 14 years between 1976 and 1990.

He was the leader of the Communal Liberation Party (TKP) between 1987 and 2001 and was a lawmaker for parliament between 1993 and 2009.

The Turkish Cypriot leader was deputy premier and minister of tourism between 1999 and 2001.

Apart from Akıncı, four politicians have announced their candidacy so far: Prime Minister Ersin Tatar from the National Unity Party (UBP), Foreign Minister Kudret Özersay as an independent candidate, main opposition Republican Turkish Party (CTP) leader Tufan Erhürman and the leader of the Rebirth Party (YDP), Erhan Arıklı..

Turkish Cypriots will go to the polls for the 10th time since 1974 to elect a president.

In 1974, following a coup aiming at Cyprus's annexation by Greece, Ankara...

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