Prime Minister Dervis Eroglu won the presidential elections Sunday in the breakaway Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, leaving behind Mehmet Ali Talat, Turkish media reported.
According to preliminary data from the Central Election Commission, Eroglu received 50.3 percent of the vote.
Eroglu is considered to be a hardliner in negotiations on the settlement of the conflict in Cyprus, while Talat was in favor of reunifying the Greek and Turkish parts of the island.
Cyprus has remained divided since 1974 when Turkish troops occupied the northern part of the island after a coup arranged by the Greeks in hopes of acceding Cyprus to Greece.
After the results were announced, Eroglu said negotiations on the settlement of the Cyprus question will be conducted in cooperation with Turkey, NTV reported.
The Cyprus problem is a major stumbling block in Turkey's negotiations with the EU. Ankara has repeatedly said it will not open its sea and air ports of the Republic of Cyprus until the international isolation of northern Cyprus has ended, which provides an additional protocol to the Customs Union signed in 2005.
Turkey also refuses to recognize the divided island Republic of Cyprus, which, in turn, is a member of the EU, until the problem is solved.