now hangs in the balance<\/strong> after the party on Thursday withdrew an offer for him and his challenger Talip Atalay to jointly run the party under a \u201crotating leadership\u201d system.<\/p>\nArikli had jumped at the offer when it was made by the YDP\u2019s district branch leaders amidst a bitter leadership battle.<\/p>\n
District branch leaders had suggested to Arikli on Wednesday night that he lead the party until the next \u2018parliamentary\u2019 election before Atalay takes over for the campaign and leads the party thereafter.<\/p>\n
Arikli then publicly announced his acceptance of the offer<\/strong> on the condition that he be allowed to lead the party for at least the next 18 months, thus likely giving himself a platform to run in the Turkish Cypriot leadership elections in October next year.<\/p>\n\u201cLet our party conference turn into a celebration,\u201d he announced.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Atalay made no public statement on the matter, though sources suggested he \u201cdid not look favourably\u201d on the idea.<\/p>\n
In any case, Arikli seems to have been left high and dry<\/strong> on Thursday, with the party\u2019s district branch leaders telling Haber Kibris that they had withdrawn the proposal as it was against internal party rules.<\/p>\nThe district branch leaders called on Arikli and Atalay to find a compromise, and Arikli\u2019s seeming willingness to cede ground to Atalay and Atalay\u2019s insistence on a leadership election suggests the latter may have the upper hand.<\/p>\n
Arikli\u2019s new conciliatory tone is also a marked change in rhetoric than that which he displayed earlier in the campaign when he and Atalay had exchanged verbal blows.<\/p>\n
When Atalay announced his candidacy at the end of January, Arikli insisted he \u201c<\/strong>can win under all circumstances\u201d<\/strong>, but said his party \u201cwill suffer a big blow\u201d as a result of the leadership challenge.<\/p>\nIn response, Atalay asked Arikli \u201care you the party base which would not be able to handle a party conference?\u201d<\/p>\n
Atalay also disclosed that he had considered moving against Arikli earlier, before the north\u2019s municipal elections in December 2022, but that he had been told by Arikli that \u201cTurkey wants us to show a united front.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe kept us aligned with him by saying this, but later we realised that it was not Turkey\u2019s request at all, but rather a request from people within our party to Turkey,\u201d he said, adding that this was a \u201ccompletely massive deception\u201d<\/strong>.<\/p>\nIn response, Arikli asked, \u201cwho did you talk to in Ankara to come to the conclusion I was deceiving you?\u201d<\/p>\n
He then referenced Atalay\u2019s theologian roots and previous career as head of the north\u2019s religious affairs directorate, asking \u201cis it appropriate for a man of God to slander me like this?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\nIn his own response later on Friday, Atalay said \u201chaving a row is Arikli\u2019s style, we will not go around starting rows.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added, \u201ca change is needed. If I were party leader, I would realise this. People have lost faith in whether Erhan Arikli is telling the truth or lying. He should fix his mental state.\u201d<\/p>\n
The pair have also both called upon each other to drop out of the race.<\/p>\n
The consequences of Erhan Arikli potentially being dethroned as leader of the YDP are not yet clear. The party has two seats in the north\u2019s \u2018parliament\u2019 and is a member of the three-party ruling coalition with the UBP and the DP.<\/p>\n
It is currently unknown as to whether Atalay would wish to also take over Arikli\u2019s role as \u2018transport minister\u2019 or possibly renegotiate the coalition agreement in the hope of securing control of a different \u2018ministry\u2019.<\/p>\n
The coalition currently holds 29 out of 50 seats in \u2018parliament\u2019, and as such, it would still have a working majority were the YDP to withdraw.<\/p>\n
However, it would leave the largest party the UBP reliant on the votes of the DP<\/strong> to pass legislation, while at the same time, DP leader Fikri Ataoglu is also facing rumblings of disquiet inside his own party.<\/p>\nThe next \u2018parliamentary\u2019 election in the north is not due to take place until February 2027, though no \u2018parliament\u2019 in the north has completed its full five-year term since the 2003 election<\/strong>.<\/p>\nThe YDP\u2019s party conference is set to take place on February 17.<\/p>\n
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\nCyprus Mail on Google News<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Erhan Arikli’s leadership of the YDP is uncertain after the party retracted a proposal for a rotating leadership system with his rival Talip Atalay. Arikli had accepted the offer to lead the party until the next parliamentary election, after which Atalay would take over. However, the party’s district branch leaders withdrew the offer, stating it was against internal party rules. Arikli and Atalay were advised to compromise, and Arikli’s willingness to concede suggests Atalay may have an advantage. Arikli had previously expressed confidence in winning under any circumstances but acknowledged that his party would suffer from the leadership challenge. Atalay accused Arikli of deceiving the party by falsely claiming Turkey wanted a united front. The YDP has two seats in the north’s parliament and is part of a three-party ruling coalition. The coalition would still have a majority without the YDP. The largest party in the coalition, the UBP, would then depend on the DP’s votes to pass legislation. No parliament in the north has completed a full five-year term since the 2003 election. The YDP’s party conference is scheduled for February 17.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2955,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"Default","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[410,3,191,153,781,250,387,177,268,380,782],"class_list":["post-2954","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cyprus","tag-north","tag-cyprus","tag-divided-island","tag-elections","tag-erhan-arikli","tag-google","tag-lost","tag-turkey","tag-turkish-cypriot","tag-us","tag-ydp"],"acf":{"keyphrase":"","keywords":"","sourceimg":"","country-category":""},"yoast_head":"\n
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