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Turkish Cypriot president says next 7 months vital for peace in Cyprus
Two main pro-agreement parties lose ground in Cypriot parliamentary election
All 56 seats of the Cypriot Parliament are coped by Greek Cypriot politicians, as Turkish Cypriots do not vote in those elections. Instead, they elect their own North Cypriot Parliament, which has been running since 1976 and has not been recognized by Cyprus. Turkey has been maintaining troops in Northern Cyprus since 1974.
The Democratic Rally (DISY, right-of-centre) and the Progressive Party of Working People (AKEL, Communist) lost 2 and 3 seats respectively in the election. DISY remains the largest party with 18 MPs, while AKEL continues to be second largest one with 16. Both parties combined hold the majority in Parliament. But both right-wing and left-wing parties opposed to a proposed deal to turn Cyprus into a federal state made gains in the election.
The rise of those parties, and the upcoming 2018 electoral process for the presidency of Cyprus, are at the backdrop of Akinci's hurry to reach an agreement before the end of the year. Akinci fears that Cypriot politics in 2017 will mostly revolve around the presidential election, a scenario that could see Cypriot president Nicos Anastasiades (DISY) more focused on his own re-election campaign than on peace negotiations.
A substantial part of the Greek Cypriot population remains opposed to the federal reunification deal.
Akinci and Anastasiades resumed peace talks in May 2015, after the election of the former as Turkish Cypriot president. Both leaders said they will honour a 2008 deal between then-president of Cyprus Demetris Christofias and then-president of Northern Cyprus Mehmet Ali Talat to establish a unified, federal and binational Cyprus.