Cyprus: Early results from yesterday's parliamentary elections in northern Cyprus showed supporters of a UN plan to reunify the divided island nudging ahead of parties supporting veteran leader, Mr Rauf Denktash.
A victory for pro-settlement parties could revive stalled peace talks and allow Turkish Cypriots to join the European Union next year alongside their Greek Cypriot neighbours.
With about a third of the votes counted, election results late last night showed the main opposition Republican Turkish Party (CTP) and two other pro-reunification parties had a total of 51 percent. The two main pro-Denktash parties polled around 45 percent.
Mr Denktash's opposition to the UN blueprint threatens to scupper Turkey's own hopes of EU membership and would leave northern Cyprus in international isolation while the Greek Cypriot southern part of the island joins the EU next May.
Officials put the turnout in the poll at 85 percent. Only parties drawing more than five percent of the vote will be allowed seats in parliament. Seats are allocated according to a complex proportional system meaning the percentage of votes won may not correspond exactly to parliamentary power.
The poll, officially recognised only by Ankara, is widely seen as a referendum on the the leadership of Mr Denktashand his rejection of the UN plan.
"This is a referendum between those who want a settlement and those who don't," said prominent businessman Mr Fikri Toros.
The EU has sent a clear message to Turkey that its chances of starting full accession talks with Brussels will be seriously damaged if Ankara fails to push the the Turkish Cypriots to a deal.