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Presidential elections were held in Northern Cyprus in April 2015. In the first round, held on 19 April 2015, the incumbent president, independent candidate Derviş Eroğlu and independent candidate Mustafa Akıncı progressed to the second round. The second round took place on 26 April 2015 and was won by Akıncı.
The results of the election were considered to be a major upset of power by the mainstream Turkish Cypriot media. The other major candidates of the election, who failed to progress to the second round were Sibel Siber, the candidate of the Republican Turkish Party, which headed the government at the time of the election, and Kudret Özersay, an independent candidate with no political history. Siber's failure to progress to the second round led to shock and controversy in her party and Prime Minister Özkan Yorgancıoğlu announced that he would be stepping down in the upcoming party congress. Özersay's share of the votes was seen as a major surprise success. Eroğlu announced his withdrawal from political life following the election.
The President is elected using the two-round system: as no candidate received a majority in the first round, a run-off was held seven days later. The role of the president is not symbolic, he or she has some role in the executive branch of the government and is an important position as he or she represents Northern Cyprus in international politics, especially regarding the Cyprus dispute and the peace talks
Upon Akıncı's election, Nicos Anastasiades, President of the Republic of Cyprus, called to congratulate him. Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulidis said that they were "gratified" by Akıncı's win and that they would wait for the suggestions of the Turkish side at the table of negotiations.
Former Cypriot president Demetris Christofias sent Akıncı a congratulatory letter, wherein, in reference to the on-going negotiations for the settlement of the Cyprus dispute, he alluded to obstructionist practices by third-party Greek and Turkish Cypriot factions. The letter elicited the protest of centrist DIKO party; they claimed Christofias "equated" Turkish war crimes with the legitimate concerns of the Greek Cypriot populace
Akıncı, who ran as an independent, is a member of the pro-Union Communal Democracy Party. He is described as a "leftist moderate" who would "push harder for a peace deal". In terms of the specific negotiations, he stated that he would oppose "submissiveness" on the Turkish Cypriot side in the Turkish-Turkish Cypriot relations and said that the relationship should be "fraternal" and that the Turkish Cypriots should be able to "stand up on their own feet". Akıncı promised a vision about the ghost town of Varosha favoring a settlement to the issue by saying, "Instead of living side by side a corpse let Varosha become a lively city where people live, contractors from both communities do business together and young people can find jobs".
He proposed and endorsed formulas to enable Turkish Cypriot participation in international sports events, projects to establish a common mobile phone network on both sides of Cyprus, opening of checkpoints in Lefka (Aplıç) and Famagusta (Derinya) and continuation of bi-communal projects of renovation of historical places. Regarding his vision for Varosha, he elaborated that the quarter should be opened to public under United Nations administration in a way that would "benefit both communities". He expressed his vehement opposition to any discrimination against LGBT individuals. He also promised to bring women to the table of negotiations if he elected, and said that communal gender equality should be a "way of life".
Akıncı held his Nicosia rally on 14 April. The rally was attended by "thousands" and was "marked by spaces reserved for the elderly and the disabled", according to news reports. Akıncı refuted the proposition that change should be brought about by youths or women, claiming that change comes with ideas, and said that the neutrality of a president should not be perceived as a lack of principles.
Upon Akıncı's progression to the second round, the Republican Turkish Party, headed by Prime Minister Özkan Yorgancıoğlu, announced that they would endorse him.
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