By This post is also available in: ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΑ (GREEK) TÜRKÇE (TURKISH)
The Republican Turkish Party’s reiteration of its call for early elections in Parliament yesterday, and its submission of a proposal on this matter is not a routine political calendar debate. This call is an essential response to the governance crisis, institutional collapse, and loss of democratic legitimacy into which the country has been dragged.
Because what we are experiencing today in the north of Cyprus is not merely bad governance. We are faced with an approach that seeks to govern the country through statutory decrees, bypassing Parliament and reducing parliamentary democracy to a mere formality.
The government believed that instead of obtaining authority from the people, it could establish a de facto ‘decree regime’ through statutory decrees. It normalized making decisions about the country’s fate in an unchecked, unchallenged, and unparticipatory manner. However, this method is not merely a matter of political ethics; it is a direct violation of the principle of the rule of law.
Indeed, the judiciary put a stop to this arbitrariness. Last week, the Court’s interim injunction clearly demonstrated, at first glance, the illegality of the regulation made by statutory decrees.
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Democracy is not just a procedure remembered from election to election. Democracy is an order in which the Parliament functions, laws are debated, the opposition’s oversight yields results, and the citizen’s voice finds institutional resonance. Today, this system has been arbitrarily suspended by the government.
Today, this crisis is reflected in the streets in its starkest form. Rising input costs in agricultural production have left producers gasping for air. In livestock farming, the government’s lack of policy has added to this picture. Following a dry year, disruptions in imported barley supplies and exorbitant increases in roughage prices have brought many producers to the point of abandoning production. Small businesses are struggling to survive under the burden of electricity and rent.
The public has no confidence in those who govern. As the economic crisis deepens, workers are becoming poorer every day, and young people are emigrating from the country. Public services, particularly security, education, and health, are collapsing.
Criminal proceedings are becoming commonplace as a result of allegations of corruption, questionable tenders, rent-seeking, and irregularities committed by senior officials belonging to the political parties in rule. Meritocracy has given way to a system dominated by gangs. The law is bent to suit the needs of the powerful.
This situation is no longer just a governance problem; it is a crisis of legitimacy, social security, and the future.
That is why early elections are not a luxury but a democratic necessity. Because the will of the people has been effectively suspended and must be reestablished.
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Those who defend the continuation of this structure by using the term ‘stability’ are actually trying to protect the order they themselves have undermined. Yet, what is happening in this country is now happening before everyone’s eyes.
The people must clearly show at the ballot box whether they approve of this approach to governance. Early elections are also a reckoning: it is a democratic questioning of what has been done, what has not been done, and the damage that has been done.
Today, the need is clear: to enter into a political process that reestablishes political will in parliament and the principle of the rule of law. For this reason, early elections are not a choice; they are a necessity for this country to breathe in democracy. This is not just an election debate. It is a matter of regaining economic rights, a safe and humane life, the rule of law, and the very existence of this country.
This article was originally publised on 03.02.2026
Source: NOT BECAUSE WE FEEL LIKE IT, BUT FOR JUSTICE AND DEMOCRACY: EARLY ELECTIONS
