Front Page Headlines
Shopkeepers waiting for a discount in rent
Many shop owners in the old market in Nicosia which are tenants of the Evkaf Administration have reached a point where they can’t pay their rent. They are demanding that the Evkaf lowers their rent and makes payments easier. The head of the Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Shopkeepers and Artisans Mahmut Kanber said, “We’ve met with the Evkaf Administration’s Director and conveyed our demands, our requests. Shopkeepers in the area have lost 80 per cent of their revenues due to the closure of the [Lokmacı/Ledra] crossing point. We are asking shopkeepers to be exempt from rent for a certain period and a 50 per cent discount.”
- The minimum wage in the north and south. €924 in the south and €324 in the north.
- Works of art created in 1966 defy time and destruction – 12 works of art created by iconic artist Savva still maintain their vigilant colours as they adorn the walls of the basement of the Perroguet Night Club 46 years on.
- A second round in the National Unity Party (UBP): Sucuoğlu and Taçoy – Faiz Sucuoğlu completed the UBP congress with a margin of 604 votes.
Destruction and sorrow
Search and rescue efforts continue in nine collapsed buildings following a 6.6 magnitude earthquake off the coast of Seferihisar in the Aegean Sea. 39 people died and 885 people were injured as a result of the earthquake.
- Sucuoğlu and Taçoy in the second round – Five candidates competed for the party leadership at the UBP congress. None of the candidates achieved a simple majority of the votes, therefore the election will be decided with a second-round which will be held on November 7. Among the 6801 votes cast, Faiz Sucuoğlu received 2706, Hasan Taçoy 2102, Nazım Çavuşoğlu 691, Dursun Oğuz 688 and Ünal Üstel received 575 votes. 39 votes rendered invalid.
- Rapists will serve life sentence – South Cyprus amended its penal code.
- Covid-19 measures extended until November 16 – Turkish Cypriot Health Ministry announced additional measures to be imposed.
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To be repeated next week
The ruling UBP congress with five candidates and 6,801 members could barely be completed in a day. Faiz Sucuoğlu and Hasan Taçoy made it to the second round. Voting started an hour late. Members who queued up at the Atatürk Sports Hall at 10am were not allowed in. Tensions rose and some members fainted. Security officers tried to calm down the members who were forced to wait under the heat for an hour. Even though voting ended at 8pm, it was 2.35am when counting of all the votes was completed. Faiz Sucuoğlu and Hasan Taçoy received the highest number of votes but both failed to win a simple majority forcing a second round next Sunday.
- Another blow to Greek Cypriot tourism – UK citizens on holiday in South Cyprus rushed back home to evade two-week quarantine.
Sucuoğlu declared victory as votes were still being counted
The counting of votes at the UBP congress for electing the party leader and the prime minister carried on until after midnight. Faiz Sucuoğlu, as our newspaper was going to print, was in the lead with 41.2 per cent of the votes, of which only 500 had been counted. Sucuoğlu said: “This is over. We will see whether there will be a second round or not.”
- 250 will be monitored through electronic bracelets – Turkish Cypriot Health Minister Ali Pilli announced the home-based quarantine system will start on Monday, November 2.
- The minimum wage in the south is ₺9,000 (€924) – What do those who claim that the north is cheaper than the south have to say about the fact that the minimum wage in the south is two-and-a-half times higher than the minimum wage in the north?
- 149 cases of coronavirus and one death in the south, seven cases in the north.
Main News
UBP leadership race to be decided in a second round
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs, Diyalog, Avrupa
Governance and Power Sharing
OVERVIEW
Faiz Sucuoğlu and Hasan Taçoy advanced to the second round of elections for the top seat in the National Unity Party (UBP) congress held on Saturday.
Sucuoğlu received the highest number of votes at the congress, winning with a 604-vote margin from his closest rival Taçoy.
Five candidates had competed for the party’s leadership and since none of them succeeded in winning a simple majority, the outcome will now be decided a week from now on Sunday, November 7.
Turnout at the congress remained relatively low with only 6801 of the 11,850 party members showing up to cast their votes.
Faiz Sucuoğlu received 2706, Hasan Taçoy 2102, Nazım Çavuşoğlu 691, Dursun Oğuz 688 and Ünal Üstel 575 votes. 39 votes were rendered invalid.
Although the voting process had ended at 8pm, it was in the early hours of Sunday morning when all counting was completed.
Earlier in the morning, tempers flared as hundreds of members who had queued up in the early hours of the morning to cast their votes were kept waiting outside the Atatürk Sports Hall where the voting was taking place under the sun.
Voting started an hour late.
In the meantime, newly elected Turkish Cypriot President and former UBP leader Ersin Tatar said in his message to party members that the country was going through a difficult phase due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Tatar argued that he has managed to improve the damaged relations with Turkey during his helm at the party’s leadership and government.
He said that relations were now good and a productive level of collaboration “with motherland Turkey” had been established.
“We have brought the two-state solution to the fore and we have implemented our plan to reopen Maraş (Varosha) through the Immovable Property Commission (IPC),” Tatar said.
He added that he will continue to work in close collaboration with the new government to reach his goals on the Cyprus problem.
“The UBP is very important for me and the country,” Tatar said before wishing success to all the candidates.
On the other hand, Yenidüzen reported that the UBP members did not comply with the social distancing rule when they lined up to vote for their preferred candidate.
Covid-19 measures extended till November 16
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs, Diyalog, Avrupa
Internal Security
OVERVIEW
The Higher Committee on Infectious Diseases on Saturday announced the extension of various coronavirus measures in place in view of the spike in the number of positive cases in Turkey and Europe on Saturday.
In addition to extending the mandatory quarantine requirement, from November 1 to November 16, the committee also stated that airline and/or ferry companies that wish to organize additional charter flights or ferry services to the north for individuals which will stay for a maximum of three days will need to acquire permission from the Turkish Cypriot Health and Public Works/Communication ministries.
The committee additionally decided to postpone the opening of clubs and discos and maintain the ban on contact sports like boxing and wrestling as well as the opening of cinemas, theatres and festivals until November 16.
Meanwhile, the Turkish Cypriot Health Minister Ali Pilli on Saturday announced that they will start using electronic bracelets to monitor individuals who are supposed to be self-isolating as part of measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus on Monday.
The electronic tags will be placed on 250 passengers arriving in the north by plane as of Monday.