A majority of Greek Cypriots view Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhürman negatively, according to a new survey published by the newspaper Politis.
The poll, conducted by Noverna Analytics & Research between Feb. 26 and March 11, surveyed 1,020 eligible voters across the Republic of Cyprus through telephone interviews. While the survey focused primarily on the upcoming May parliamentary elections, it also measured public perceptions of Erhürman.
According to the findings, 41% of respondents said they held a negative view of Erhürman, while 17% expressed a positive opinion. Another 26% described their view as neutral, and 16% said they did not know or declined to answer.
Politis reported that the results suggest that, despite a change in leadership in the Turkish Cypriot community, trust among Greek Cypriots has not significantly improved. The paper noted, however, that attitudes varied by party affiliation.
Among AKEL voters, 32% expressed a positive view of Erhürman, while 25% held a negative view and 32% were neutral. Views in other parties were generally negative, with the highest unfavourable rating recorded among ELAM voters at 67%. ELAM was followed by DIKO at 55%, DISY at 52%, Direct Democracy at 52% and ALMA at 48%.
The survey also asked respondents whether they believed Erhürman was more sincere than former Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar in seeking a solution to the Cyprus issue. A majority, 56%, said the two were equally sincere. Twenty‑four percent viewed Erhürman as more sincere, while 6% said he was not sincere.