Narrow Lead for Eroglu

As of 7pm this evening, Dr. Dervis Eroglu had a narrow lead over incumbent Mehmet Ali Talat with 48.9 percent of votes, compared to Talat's  43.3 percent.

The 'presidential' election in the Turkish-Cypriot community is seen as a landmark election which may decide the success or failure of reunification talks between the two communities. There was a large turnout for the elections, which had seven candidates on the ballot and around 76 percent of the 164,072 eligible voters.

Early results showed that in Nicosia, both candidates received 45.5 percent, while in Kyrenia, Eroglu received 51.5 percent compared to Talat's 43.3 percent. So far, 36,599 votes have been counted and full results are expected by midnight.

If he wins the election it is expected that Eroglu will continue reunification talks but on the basis of a two-state federation, a position rejected by President Demetris Christofias.

Meanwhile, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday urged the Turkish-Cypriot leadership to continue talks no matter what the result of the elections.