New Secretary-General Elected for Northern Cyprus’s Main Opposition Party

Erkut Şahali has been elected Secretary-General of the Republican Turkish Party (CTP), the largest opposition party in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). The party assembly also appointed Asım Akansoy and Sıla Usar İncirli as its new spokespersons.

The decisions were made during the first meeting of the party following its congress held on April 6. Three candidates — Asım Akansoy, Erkut Şahali, and Sıla Usar İncirli — competed for the role of Secretary-General, with Şahali winning in the second round of voting.

Elections were also held for the party’s Central Executive Committee. The newly elected leadership includes:

• Party Leader: Tufan Erhürman

• Secretary-General: Erkut Şahali

• President of the Women’s Branch: Doğuş Derya

• President of the Youth Branch: İsmail Barbaros

Erkut Şahali, 51, has served twice as the TRNC’s Minister of Agriculture and once as Minister of Public Works. He replaces Asım Akansoy, who had held the Secretary-General position since 2022.

The Secretary-General is considered the party’s second-most senior position after the leader. Tufan Erhürman was re-elected as party leader at the April 6 congress, where he ran unopposed. At the same meeting, the CTP confirmed it would back Erhürman as its candidate in the upcoming presidential elections set for October.