Rifts in the coalition government have appeared because of the issue of Foreign Minister Kudret Ozersay’s ambitions to be President of the TRNC and the new citizenship and residency permit regulations, introduced by Interior Minister Ayşegül Baybars, which also affect citizens from Turkey.
Ms Baybars, an opinion piece written by Gokhan Altiner for Turkish Cypriot daily ‘Kibris Postasi’ says, is not favoured by Ankara because of her policies and the Turkish government has called for her dismisal, Altiner writes. However, Ozersay has clearly rejected this idea, he says.
“I’m guessing that Ozersay, once the prince of Ankara, is now quickly moving away from this point. Even if Ayşegül has made some moves to smooth out the regulation and even issued an additional circular, there is a serious problem”, Altiner writes.
The journalist adds that he thinks that the People’s Party (HP) led by Ozersay, will be ousted from the coalition. This increases pressure on Prime Minister Ersin Tatar to stand for president. Tatar has said he would not be a candidate in the 2020 presidential elections, but that he would listen to his party.
Kibris Postasi
