(MENAFN) Tufan Erhurman, head of the Republican Turkish Party (CTP), has emerged victorious in the presidential race of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), obtaining 62.76% of the votes, according to initial figures released by the electoral commission on Sunday evening.

Erhurman triumphed over the current President Ersin Tatar, who garnered 35.81% of the ballots cast.

The Supreme Election Board of Northern Cyprus reported that voter participation in this election reached 64.87%.

After the announcement of the election outcome, Erhurman stated, “Foreign policy will naturally be conducted in close consultation with Türkiye—let there be no doubt about that.”

In reaction to the results, Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz remarked, “The elections have demonstrated the maturity of the TRNC as a state and of its voters. As the motherland and guarantor country, we will continue to stand by the TRNC.”

Polling for the presidential contest began early Sunday, with voting occurring between 8 am (0500 GMT) and 6 pm (1500 GMT) at 777 polling locations throughout the nation.

The TRNC has 218,313 registered voters eligible to participate.

The sitting President Ersin Tatar ran as an independent contender, while Tufan Erhurman, leader of the principal opposition Republican Turkish Party (CTP), stood as the official candidate of his party.

Additional candidates included independents Mehmet Hasguler, Arif Salih Kirdag, Ahmet Boran, and Ibrahim Yazici, along with Osman Zorba representing the Cyprus Socialist Party.

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