Media centre

PRIO Cyprus Centre Director, Harry Tzimitras commenting on the recent elections in the Turkish Cypriot Community in:

• Saarbrücker Zeitung, Standpunkt 21.10.25
• Die Presse, AUSLAND 21.10.25
• H Kathimerini, KOSMOS 26.10.25
• Η ΝΑΥΤΕΜΠΟΡΙΚΗ YouTube channel, 28.10.25

Hatay spoke to the Kurdish-Turkish Daily, Yeni Özgür Politika about the recent presidential elections in the north. Hatay describes the outcome as a strong expression of political agency and a collective stance against increasing interventions in education, urban space, and everyday life. He emphasizes that the asymmetrical nature of relations between Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot community is now being openly questioned, as people push back against being treated like a “backyard” to Ankara. The interview also highlights the growing public discomfort with rent-driven economic models and externally imposed political agendas, which have fueled a renewed demand for dignity, autonomy, and a more balanced partnership.

Stefanos Evripdou interviewed PCC consultant Mete Hatay for English Politis on the the day after.

PCC Senior Research Consultant Mete Hatay spoke to BBC Turkish following the inauguration in north Nicosia. He underlined that a federal solution remains Erhürman’s main objective but this time, confidence-building and clear assurances will be key. Hatay noted that although President Christodoulides’ call to resume negotiations is a welcome step, lessons from the failure of Crans-Montana mean that Turkish Cypriots expect concrete guarantees before returning to the table.

PRIO Cyprus Centre Senior Research Consultant Mete Hatay was interviewed by Nazan Özcan for the Armenian-Turkish newspaper Agos.

PRIO Senior Research Consultant Mete Hatay talked to French Le Petit Journal on the recent Turkish Cypriot election. Hatay interprets this result as more than just an electoral win, it is “a people’s quiet declaration of ‘enough’.” He notes that the vote signals Turkish Cypriots’ desire to steer their own course, and to re-engage with the broader process of negotiation rather than remain isolated. He also cautions that any progress will require coordination, especially with Turkey as the patron state and with the Republic of Cyprus, the path forward is delicate, but the window for change may be open.

PRIO Senior Research Consultant Mete Hatay talked to Turkish Daily Evrensel and noted that the far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) has long used northern Cyprus as an instrument in its nationalist rhetoric and domestic politics, but this time the sensitivity is not merely ideological. He pointed out that recent MHP inked economic ventures such as casinos, supermarket universities, and construction companies have rapidly expanded across the island. These circles, he said, are now seeking to protect their newly acquired economic positions and influence by becoming more directly involved in political affairs.

Turkish Cypriots made history on October 19. In his analysis in Diken, PRIO Cyprus Centre, Mete Hatay reads this result as more than an election as a people’s quiet declaration of “enough.” In the weeks before the vote, politicians, pop stars, footballers and even preachers were sent from Turkey to “influence” the north but in the end, it was the people who spoke. And they spoke with one simple, powerful sentence: “We are against no one. But we want to govern ourselves.”

In his latest article for Turkish daily BirGün, PRIO Cyprus Centre researcher Mete Hatay analyses the October 19 Leadership election in north Cyprus, where Tufan Erhürman’s decisive victory marked more than a change in leadership but it also signified the return of political agency to the Turkish Cypriot community. Despite unprecedented external interventions and media manipulation, voters across social and demographic divides chose to reclaim their voice and autonomy. Hatay argues that this was not a night of triumphalism but of quiet liberation, a collective statement that the community will no longer be spoken for by others. The result, he writes, is a turning point for democracy in the island’s north and a message of dignity and self-determination to the wider region.

Mete Hatay from the PRIO Cyprus Centre spoke to the Financial Times about the leadership election held on 19 October in the northern part of Cyprus. “It’s a new beginning for us and a message against any kind of intervention and impositions coming from Turkey.”