Mr Talat becomes
the second president of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus -
declared in 1983, and the outgoing president conceded victory in a
telephone call with Mr Talat, on election night.
Since then, Mr
Denktas has won consecutive presidential elections, before deciding
not to stand in this year’s election.
During this
morning’s visit, the outgoing president wished Mr Talat success and
all the best during his five-year tenure.
“I’m transferring
the duty in a whole-hearted peace of mind, and I can see that the
Turkish Cypriot people has voted in the party it believed provides
the best hope for the future” he said.
The outgoing
president said he also believes his decision not to contest the
election has contributed to building a better democracy in the
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.
On the Cyprus
issue, the president said “a very hard and difficult term lies
ahead for Mr Talat, who, he said, he believes is fully equipped and
capable of handling and overcoming those hardships in a controlled
manner”.
“However, it is our
duty to remind Mr Talat of the Oath he will be taking soon. And I,
as someone more experienced, will also be continuously telling him
about the Greek Cypriots; but the responsibility will definitely lie
with Mr Talat himself”.
For his part, the
president-elect, Prime Minister Mehmet Ali Talat pointed to the fact
that the outgoing president had been the first person to
congratulate him after his election victory was announced; and said
yesterday’s election and the campaign that preceded it had been a
test of Turkish Cypriot Democracy.
He said he intends
to benefit from the experiences of his predecessor.
Mr Talat said he
was assuming duty as the president of the Turkish Republic of
Northern Cyprus with pride and honor; and would be doing everything
needed to uphold the rights of the Turkish Cypriot people and secure
its political equality without risking its overall security.
Meanwhile, the High
Electoral Council has announced that the president-elect Mr Talat
will be swearing-in as the Second President of the Republic on
Sunday, April 24th.
This news bulletin
is extracted from BRT.
(19.04.2005)
