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“Illegal rewards, enticements and pillaging”
The Union of the Chambers of Cyprus Turkish Engineers and Architects (KTMMOB) issued a harsh statement on the Famagusta-İskele (Trikomo) – Yeniboğaziçi (Agios Sergios) development masterplan. KTMMOB said the master plan signed by Prime Minister Faiz Sucuoğlu was different from the one approved by the Permits Evaluation Board on December 30, 2019. The KTMMOB added: “Therefore the signed plan is not valid, and it will be unlawful to carry out any actions based on the invalid plan.”
- 12,063 more voters between the two elections.
The number of voters increased by 4,154 in one year and by 12,630 in three
People will head to ballots on January 23, 2022. The Higher Electoral Board (YSK) yesterday announced that the election bans have come into force and published the election calendar. According to YSK’s calculations, the total number of voters is 203,183. There is a serious increase in the number of voters compared to the 2018 general elections and 2020 presidential elections.
Never seen a crisis like this
The shopkeepers were disappointed with ‘Black Friday’ sales. The retailers had hoped to do some business reducing prices in some cases up to 70 per cent. But the discounts did not work. Nicosia shopkeepers, speaking to Diyalog reporters, said “We have not been able to sell anything properly for months. We had a major discount on Black Friday but interest was low.”
- The election calendar starts – The political parties must nominate their list of candidates for the elections until December 14.
£69,000 (€81,300) for the Azeri group
Look at what the Faiz Sucuoğlu government is doing while patients are suffering due to shortages in vital medicines. According to a decision published in the official gazette, the Council of Ministers has agreed to pay £69,000 (€81,300) for two signers, a total of six people from Azerbaijan. The visit of the Azeri group is organized for publicity for the country and will be paid from the Tourism Ministry’s budget.
Main News
Tatar says he will not give up the struggle for recognition of TCs’ sovereignty
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs, Diyalog, Avrupa
Negotiations Process
OVERVIEW
Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar on Friday shared his views in favour of a two-state solution with members of the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce who were in the north for contacts as the guest of the Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Commerce.
Tatar defended his vision, arguing that he was waging a sacred struggle for the recognition of the Turkish Cypriots’ sovereignty.” “The two sides have had separate administrations for 60 years now,” Tatar said, adding that it is an undeniable fact there are two separate states and two peoples on the island.
He also repeated his position against a federal settlement, stating that all efforts to reach such a partnership had failed. Tatar argued that if achieved such a solution would spell the end of Turkish Cypriots transforming them into a minority that would be absorbed by the Republic of Cyprus (RoC) which is practically a Greek controlled state.
On the issue of sovereignty, the Turkish Cypriot leader said that there would be no official talks until the Turkish Cypriots’ sovereignty was recognized.
Speaking at another meeting on Friday, Tatar raised the issue of cooperation with the Greek Cypriot side, stating that collaboration between the two sides was the way to go. He said that the Turkish Cypriot side could supply water and electricity to the Greek Cypriot side.
12,063 more voters between two elections
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs, Diyalog, Avrupa
Migration & Citizenship, Governance & Power Sharing
OVERVIEW
The number of voters eligible to cast their votes in the upcoming general elections in the north on January 23, 2021, is 203,183, the head of the Higher Electoral Board (YSK) Narin Ferdi Şefik said on Friday.
She added that the number of voters had increased by 12.063 since the last elections held three years ago on January 7, 2018. Şefik said that the number of eligible voters in 2018 was 190,553.
The YSK head also said that there were 4,154 more voters compared with the second round of the presidential elections held on October 18, 2020. Earlier the electoral board had announced the total number of “TRNC” citizens in the north as 245,869.
On Thursday, the YSK had announced that the distribution of seats according to the districts had changed as Morphou’s continue to lose its population. According to the latest population statistics, Güzelyurt (Morphou) lost one seat dropping to three while Kyrenia’s seats rose by one to 11. As a result, the parliamentary representation of the districts is as follows: Nicosia 16 seats, Famagusta 13 seats, Kyrenia 11 seats, İskele (Trikomo): 5 seats, Güzelyurt (Morphou) 3 seats and Lefke (Lefka) 2 seats.
According to the election calendar, the final list of the candidates will be announced on December 27 and campaigning will begin the next day running through to January 22, 2022.
Turkey to build five coast guard monitoring systems – “Turkish Eye”
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs, Diyalog, Avrupa
External Security
OVERVIEW
Turkey has started the construction of the first two out of five coast guard monitoring systems in the Eastern Mediterranean, Turkish Cypriot dailies reported on Saturday.
The monitoring system dubbed “Turkish Eye” will ensure the security of the Turkish vessels in the Eastern Mediterranean.
Turkey, on one hand, is looking for lasting solutions to the problems in the Eastern Mediterranean, on the other is continuing its efforts to ensure security for its vessels in the Eastern Mediterranean. In this regard, the construction of the two monitoring stations in Anamur, Mersin and Keltepe, Hatay in Turkey started.
An additional “operation centre” will also be built in the north as part of the project to both monitor and identify the vessels in the seas.
The Coast Guard Command aims to create a custom-made nautical chart of Turkey’s territorial waters by compiling data from automated identification and electro-optic systems as well as data obtained from other public institutions.
The Coast Guard will also set up the coastline and maritime surveillance information networks for the effective sharing of information between surveillance stations, coast guard units and other military and government institutions.