Looks like time is running out on the negotiations, according to Angus Reid Global Monitor:
Angus Reid Global Monitor wrote:Eroglu is Top Contender in Northern Cyprus
January 05, 2010
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Dervis Eroglu could become the next president of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, according to a poll by Redborder Research Company. 51 per cent of respondents would vote for the member of the Party of National Unity (UBP) in this year’s election.
Incumbent president Mehmet Ali Talat of the Republican Turkish Party (CTP) is a distant second with 29 per cent. 20 per cent of respondents would vote for other candidates or remain undecided.
Relations between the Greek majority and the Turkish minority in Cyprus have been frayed since 1974, when a Greek-sponsored attempt to seize the government was met by military intervention from Turkey. In the skirmish, the Turks gained control of almost two-fifths of the island, which in 1983 declared itself the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. The Turkish government has never acknowledged the Greek Cypriot administration. More than 30,000 Turkish soldiers occupy the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.
In the April 2005 presidential election, Talat secured 55.8 per cent of the vote, followed by Eroglu with 22.8 per cent. In the April 2009 House of Representatives ballot, the UBP secured 44.07 per cent of the vote and 26 seats, followed by the CTP with 29.15 per cent and 15 mandates.
The president in Northern Cyprus is regarded as the leader of the Turkish community in the island, and acts as chief negotiator in talks with the United Nations (UN) and other international organizations.
On Dec. 30, Eroglu vowed to resume reunification talks after the presidential ballot, declaring, "As there will be no deal before the elections, the negotiations have to continue after the elections."
The next presidential election is expected to take place in April.
Polling Data
Who will you vote for in the presidential election?
Dervis Eroglu (UBP)
51%
Mehmet Ali Talat (CTP)
29%
Other / Not sure
20%
Source: Redborder Research Company
Methodology: Face-to-face interviews with 500 Turkish Cypriot respondents, conducted from Dec. 13 to Dec. 20, 2009. No margin of error was provided.