Residents of the self-proclaimed Turkish...
Various opinion polls put the incumbent Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat behind his main rival, hardline right-winger Prime Minister Dervis Eroglu.
Since 2008 Talat has been in talks with Greek Cypriot President Dimitris Christophias on reunification of the island, which has been divided since 1974 when Turkey invaded the north in response to a military coup on the island that was backed by Athens.
Talat puts forward a proposal of a bi-zonal bi-communal federation with a single government, in which the two parts of Cyprus will be vested with equal status.
Eroglu, in his turn, offers a "honorable solution" based on a confederation of two sovereign states. He, however, rules out that any Greek Cypriot will be allowed to return to land now held by Turks.
Reunification with its richer neighbor is seen as a solution to economic problems of northern Cyprus, which has an annual budget deficit of nearly $1 billion, covered by Turkey.