The National Unity Party (, UBP) is a political party in
Northern Cyprus
Northern Cyprus, officially the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), is a ''de facto'' state that comprises the northeastern portion of the Geography of Cyprus, island of Cyprus. It is List of states with limited recognition, recognis ...
. The UBP party was founded by
Rauf Denktaş on 11 October 1975. The party was in power from its creation until the 2003 elections with the exception of the period from 1994–1996. Ideologically, it has been variously described as
conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
,
nationalist
Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...
,
liberal conservative, and
national-conservative
National conservatism is a nationalism, nationalist variant of conservatism that concentrates on upholding National identity, national and cultural identity, communitarianism and the public role of religion. It shares aspects of traditionalist c ...
. The party is positioned on the
right-wing
Right-wing politics is the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position based on natural law, economics, authority, property ...
of the political spectrum, and it supports a
two-state solution to the
Cyprus dispute. Until April 2022, the party was a member of the
European Conservatives and Reformists Party, which it had joined in April 2017.
In the
2005 Northern Cypriot presidential election, the party's candidate
DerviÅŸ EroÄŸlu amassed 22.8% of the votes. In the
2009 Northern Cypriot parliamentary election, the party won 44% of the popular vote and 26 out of 50 seats, forming a
majority government
A majority government is a government by one or more governing parties that hold an absolute majority of seats in a legislature. Such a government can consist of one party that holds a majority on its own, or be a coalition government of multi ...
led by EroÄŸlu. The party also won the
2010 Northern Cyprus presidential election with EroÄŸlu as its candidate, and the
2020 Northern Cypriot presidential election with
Ersin Tatar as its candidate. From 2016 until
2018 Northern Cypriot parliamentary election, the party was the senior partner in a
minority government
A minority government, minority cabinet, minority administration, or a minority parliament is a government and cabinet formed in a parliamentary system when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in ...
with the
Democratic Party, with its leader
Hüseyin Özgürgün serving as prime minister. It had previously been a junior partner in a
coalition government
A coalition government, or coalition cabinet, is a government by political parties that enter into a power-sharing arrangement of the executive. Coalition governments usually occur when no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an ...
with the
Republican Turkish Party, preceded by a period as the opposition party between 2013 and 2015. Since January 2023, the party has been led by
Ãœnal Ãœstel, who replaced
Faiz SucuoÄŸlu.
Election results
Party leaders
*
Rauf Denktaş (11 October 1975 – 3 July 1976)
*
Nejat Konuk (3 July 1976 – 2 March 1978)
*
Osman Örek (18 April 1978 – 7 January 1979)
*
Mustafa Çağatay (7 January 1979 – 30 November 1983)
*
Derviş Eroğlu (18 December 1983 – 11 February 2006)
*
Hüseyin Özgürgün (11 February 2006 – 16 December 2006)
*
Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu (16 December 2006 – 29 November 2008)
*
Derviş Eroğlu (29 November 2008 – 23 April 2010)
*
İrsen Küçük (9 May 2010 – 11 June 2013)
*
Hüseyin Özgürgün (31 August 2013 – 30 October 2018)
*
Ersin Tatar (30 October 2018 – 23 October 2020)
*
Ersan Saner (20 December 2020 – 31 October 2021)
*
Faiz Sucuoğlu (31 October 2021 – 1 January 2023)
*
Ãœnal Ãœstel (since 1 January 2023)
See also
*
List of political parties in Northern Cyprus
References
External links
Official website
1975 establishments in Northern Cyprus
European Conservatives and Reformists Party member parties
Conservative parties in Asia
Conservative parties in Europe
National conservative parties
Political parties established in 1975
Political parties in Northern Cyprus
Right-wing parties
Turkish nationalism in Cyprus
Turkish nationalist organizations
Long stubs with short prose
{{NCyprus-stub