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6 years August 28, 2017
Survey: Greek & Turkish Cypriots Questioned About Consensus on Island Reunification
An opinion poll was recently distributed between the disjointed communities of the North & South sides of the island in Cyprus. The poll was conducted by research company Noverna on the Greek Cypriot side with 600 participants. The north sent questionnaires to 1,023 Turkish Cypriots.
The general consensus appeared to reflect the recent doubt regarding negotiation talks between the Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders; with the majority of Greek Cypriots who responded saying they would be “unsure” which way they would vote in a referendum to reunite the island.
26% stated they would agree to a reunification; 29% voted no; with the majority of respondents from the Greek Cypriot group (41%) stated the details of the plan would need to be released before they could make an informed decision.
Surprisingly, there were only minimal differences according to age within the Turkish Cypriot group with those aged 55 and over generally having a more positive outlook: 32% of this age group stated they would vote for a reunification. Comparing the most recent figures to 2004 statistics, when The Annan Plan (a United Nations proposal to resolve the dispute) held a similar vote in the form of a referendum, where 77% of Greek Cypriots voted no, while 66% of Turkish Cypriots voted yes.
The poll also asked about resident’s attitudes towards the confidence building measures. For Greek Cypriots, the most important confidence building measure would be for the lights of the Turkish flag on the Pentadaktylos mountain range to be switched off, with 63% of Greek Cypriots agreeing that this was the most important aspect for them. 50% wished to end the time difference between the two communities that has recently been implemented.