Cyprus PIO: Turkish Cypriot and Turkish Media Review, 15-06-09

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From: The Republic of Cyprus Press and Information Office Server at <http://www.pio.gov.cy/>

[A] TURKISH CYPRIOT / TURKISH PRESS

[01] Akinci's spokesperson comments on the negotiators' meeting

[02] Turkish Cypriot politicians evaluated the results of the Turkish Parliament Elections

[03] How Turkey's next government will be formed

[04] The coalition scenarios on Ankara's agenda

[05] Yorgancioglu said that he will continue to be in politics after stepping down as CTP's leader and "prime minister"

[06] A delegation of the "assembly" in Strasbourg

[07] "The permanent residence permit draft bill" in the "official gazette"

[08] The illegal DAU to host the "3rd Turkish-Italian Constitutional Law Conference"

[09] The "chamber of civil engineers" was represented in ECCE' general meeting in Italy

[10] An International Bikers Festival to take place in occupied Keryneia

[11] Turkey recalls its Ambassador to Brazil over Armenian genocide legislation

[12] Russia to sell Akkuyu shares in 2016

[A] TURKISH CYPRIOT / TURKISH PRESS

[01] Akinci's spokesperson comments on the negotiators' meeting

Evaluating the meeting to "BRT", Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci's spokesperson Baris Burcu said that the negotiators' meeting was held between 9am and 1pm.

He added that during the meeting the negotiators discussed the bringing to life as well as implementation of the confidence building measures which were announced at the last leaders' meeting.

"During today's meeting, the negotiators showed an understanding for making the necessary technical preparations for speeding up the process and remaining committed to the political will put forward by the leaders. Later they tried to finalize the issues discussed earlier" Burcu said.

He also added that the negotiators had looked into several methodologies in order to work faster and more efficiently. The negotiators will come together again tomorrow and on Friday, the 12th of June.

[02] Turkish Cypriot politicians evaluated the results of the Turkish Parliament Elections

The self-styled speaker of the assembly Sibel Siber stated that it is very early to evaluated Turkey's election results and how this will affect Cyprus. "It is very early for us. It is them who first must make an evaluation of the results", she stated.

The general secretary of the National Unity Party (UBP) Kenan Atun expressed the hope a stable coalition government to be established in Turkey soon. He said that Turkey follows a certain policy in Cyprus which is proactive and gained benefits during the time Dervis Eroglu was the leader of the Turkish Cypriot community. "I do not see a big chance on Turkey's Cyprus policy", he said.

The former Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat stated that an uncertainty has been created after the result and expressed the hope that the newly established government in Turkey will protect the negotiation process in Cyprus.

The chairman of Democratic Party (DP) Serdar Denktas refused to evaluate the election results. "It is not our place to make such evaluations", he stated. However, DP general secretary Hasan tacoy stated that the results showed the will of the Turkish people and added that his party supports this will.

The chairman of the Communal Democracy Party Cemal Ozyigit stated that the entering of the pro-Kurdish party in the parliament is very important and a democratic development for Turkey. "We want a Turkey that will support Mustafa Akinci for the negotiations", he stated.

Finally, the chairman of the United Cyprus Party Izzet Izcan stated that a democratized Turkey will help towards the solution of the Cyprus problem.

(CS)

[03] How Turkey's next government will be formed

As no political party managed to achieve a majority on Sunday's general election in Turkey, the country is expected to see a period of negotiation to decide the next steps in forming a government.

The Justice and Development (AK) Party led by Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu came in first in the fourth consecutive general elections to secure the largest number of votes ? 41% -- and to claim 258 seats in the Grand National Assembly, 18 short of a simple majority.

The second-placed Republican People's Party (CHP) saw 132 Deputies elected while the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and the People's Democratic Party (HDP) both won 80 seats.

Although the initial count has been completed, the figures still need to be verified by the Supreme Election Council, which could take up to 12 days. Once the final results are announced, the Deputies of the 25th Grand National Assembly must be sworn in within five days. The process is expected to be completed by June 20.

The next stage sees the new lawmakers select a Parliament Speaker, the 27th in the history of the Republic of Turkey, by secret ballot.

Given the political makeup of the new assembly, this may not be as straightforward as in the recent past when the AK Party enjoyed a majority.

A first round of voting requires the Speaker to be selected by two-thirds of Deputies, or 376 votes. If no candidate achieves this, a second round can be passed by the candidate receiving a simple majority of 276 votes. If there is still no winner, the candidate with the largest number of votes in the third round will be selected.

Following the parliamentary selection, attention turns to forming a government, perhaps the trickiest dilemma facing Turkey's representatives.

The country faces three options -- a coalition government, a minority government or snap elections under the care of an interim government.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who led the AK Party as Prime Minister for 11 years, will initially ask the AK Party, as the largest party, to form a government.

If Davutoglu is unable to form a coalition with any of the other three parties -- and none have indicated they would be willing to join the AK Party in government -- tradition dictates the President should offer the second-placed party the chance to create an administration.

If neither the AK Party nor the CHP can form a government within 45 days, the President must call for a fresh election and appoint a Prime Minister within five days to form an interim government consisting of representatives from all four parties according to their number of Deputies.

Once this interim government has been approved by a parliamentary vote of confidence, the assembly will be dissolved and the election process restarted.

[04] The coalition scenarios on Ankara's agenda

Forming a coalition government will take some time due to legal procedures. It is not sure whether or not Erdogan will give Davutoglu the mandate to form a government on June 9, although there is no legal restriction to him doing so. However, the President may wait for the official finalization of the election results, which Supreme Election Board (YSK) head Sadi Guven said would take up to 12 days due to various appeals for recounts in a number of constituencies.

As is required by Turkish laws and political customs, President Erdogan is expected to give the mandate to Davutoglu, as the head of the party with most seats in parliament. Turkey's 63rd government must be formed within 45 days of the mandate being given, which pushes Davutoglu to act as swiftly as possible and to engage in coalition negotiations with other political parties. The President has the right to take the country to early polls if political parties fail to form a government within 45 days.

As senior AKP officials have underlined, the party will likely be the main partner in a coalition government with either the Republican People's Party (CHP) with 132 seats, the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) with 80 seats, or the People's Democracy Party (HDP) with 80 seats.

There is also a possibility of the AKP forming a minority government with support being given by one of these parties on certain conditions, but this is thought to be the least likely scenario.

CHP or MHP?

As the HDP has categorically underlined that it will not form a coalition government with the AKP, eyes have now turned to the two other parties, whose initial statements appear to have left doors open to the ruling party. One difference between the CHP and the MHP is that the former is against going to early polls while the latter has openly challenged the AKP for early elections.

The CHP leadership has underlined that the message delivered by Turkish voters was for parties to form a coalition government and not to leave the country without a government. A coalition between the AKP and the CHP would be considered a broad-based coalition government, as the total seats of the parties add up to 390, a majority of more than two thirds of parliament.

Under any condition, it seems likely that reducing the controversial national election threshold from 10% will also constitute one of central points of debate during coalition negotiations.

A three-party coalition?

An AKP-MHP coalition would have 338 seats at parliament, enough to take a constitutional amendment to a referendum in the event that the two parties can agree. Such a coalition is seen by many as more likely than an AKP-CHP coalition, as the base of both the AKP and the MHP overlap on a number of issues.

Another option is a coalition that excludes the AKP, composed of all three smaller parties, or composed of the CHP and the MHP with occasional outside support from the HDP. For this scenario to come into play, Davutoglu must fail in his attempt to form the government and the President must give the mandate to CHP leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu.

[05] Yorgancioglu said that he will continue to be in politics after stepping down as CTP's leader and "prime minister"

In an interview to "TAK news agency", Yorgancioglu said that he is not resentful against anyone within the party and that all his efforts have been concentrated towards serving the Turkish Cypriot people and his party.

Stating that all parties can experience growth pains and that problems can grow even further as long as decisions taken by the parties, authorized bodies are not followed, Yorgancioglu said that the CTP-BG had been relatively successful in the mid-term "elections" for the "municipality" in the occupied part of Nicosia as well as the early "parliamentary elections".

He, however, pointed out that the party has lost the race for the "municipalities" in occupied Keryneia, Famagusta and Nicosia in last year's "local elections" despite winning in 14 other smaller "municipalities".

Pointing out that a similar debate has been held regarding the "presidential elections" held in April, Yorgancioglu said that he believes that Sibel Siber who was endorsed by the party assembly was not supported enough.

The CTP leader also pointed out that his party currently has a successful track record in "parliament", drafting 113 laws in 22 months and passing more "legislation" than the previous 5 year UBP term.

He also expressed the view that it is not possible for the CTP to stay out of the new "government" which will be formed after the congress on the 14th of June.

[06] A delegation of the "assembly" in Strasbourg

The delegation, which consists of the Republican Turkish party ? United Forces (CTP-BG) "deputy" Armagan Candan, the National Unity Party (UBP) "deputy" Hamza Ersan Saner and Democrat Party National Forces (DPUG) "deputy" Fikri Ataoglu is attending the European Parliament meetings in Strasbourg.

The meetings will be held between 8th and 11th of June.

[07] "The permanent residence permit draft bill" in the "official gazette"

According to the paper, all natural and legal persons can convey their views and proposals to the "assembly" concerning the "draft bill" within a period of 20 days.

The "draft bill" envisages amongst other that foreigners who are living in the "TRNC" with working permit for 6 years, have the right to apply to be entitled the "permanent residence permit" of the occupation regime as soon as they fill the 6th year of their stay in the "TRNC".

The "draft bill" aims to provide easiness in "daily lives" of the "foreigners" who are living in the occupied area of Cyprus.

(AK)

[08] The illegal DAU to host the "3rd Turkish-Italian Constitutional Law Conference"

The two-day conference will take place between June 9-10. Participants and speakers from Turkey, the occupation regime and the Bologna University will attend the conference.

Meanwhile, on June 8, a "collaboration protocol" was singed between the illegal DAU and the Bologna University, aiming to facilitate the productive relations between the two "universities".

The protocol includes student, researcher and academic staff exchanges between the two "universities" as well as the establishment of joint programs between the law faculties of both institutions.

In statements on the issue, the "rector" of "DAU", Prof. Dr Osam expressed his pleasure in establishing a collaboration agreement between the two "universities".

(AK)

[09] The "chamber of civil engineers" was represented in ECCE' general meeting in Italy

According to the paper, the "chamber of civil engineers" was represented by its "chairman" Seran Aysal, who is also a permanent member of the Council and the "general secretary" Bora Kutruza.

(AK)

[10] An International Bikers Festival to take place in occupied Keryneia

The paper writes that bikers from Turkey, the UK, Germany and the USA along with famous bikers from all over the world will participate in the festival.

(CS)

[11] Turkey recalls its Ambassador to Brazil over Armenian genocide legislation

The Ministry also summoned Brazil's Ambassador to Ankara on June 3 over the matter, it said in an emailed statement.

"We view the decision by the Brazilian Senate that distorts reality and overlooks the law as irresponsible and we condemn it", the Foreign Ministry said.

[12] Russia to sell Akkuyu shares in 2016

http://www.moi.gov.cy/pio

(DPs/ AM)

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