§ Mr. AncramTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign arid Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the fairness of the recent parliamentary elections in Turkish Cyprus; and if he will make a statement. [147106]
§ Mr. StrawThe 14 December elections to the "Assembly" of the "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus", although not officially recognised, were an important opportunity for the Turkish Cypriot people to express their views on the island's future. A small team of academics from the University of Oslo carried out an independent study of the elections and the pre-electoral period. They noted some serious concerns about the manner in which the campaign was conducted. Lack of impartiality in the media was one area highlighted. The final report from the University of Oslo team is expected within the next month.
We too have noted the widespread concerns expressed by many Turkish Cypriots about the way the campaign was conducted. There were numerous reports of intimidation and also of rigging of the electoral register. I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer my hon. Friend the Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Mr. MacShane) gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Hendon (Mr. Dismore) on 17 November 2003, Official Report, columns 657–58W.
As far as we are aware, elections on the day were conducted in a fair and open manner. We welcome the fact that notwithstanding these concerns about the 642W campaign, the majority of the population in the north of Cyprus voted for candidates committed to a solution to the Cyprus problem. We encourage all sides to work now for a settlement to the Cyprus problem based on the UN Secretary General's proposals (the Annan Plan) by 1 May.