Nicosia, Cyprus. Turkish Cypriot “prime minister” Unal Ustel criticised former “health minister” Izlem Gurcag Altugra after she resigned from the UBP, saying there was “no longer any hope” of the party “recovering” under his leadership. Ustel said he had “no choice” but to relieve her of her duties in 2023.
Ustel responds to resignation
Ustel said the lawmaker who resigned was “like our daughter” and that he was “like her big brother”. He said she was included in the team at the request of her family and her father.
Altugra’s father, Erdinc Gurcag, was a figure of note inside the UBP, having fought in the 1964 Battle of Tillyria and later serving as Turkish Cypriot Kyrenia mayor in two stints, from 1986 to 1989 and from 1998 to 2002.
Criticism of her time as “health minister”
Ustel said that “after a while, we noticed some difficulties in her performance” as “health minister”.
He said they spoke with her and continued for a while longer before thanking her and assigning another colleague to the position.
Dispute after her dismissal
Ustel said Altugra began expressing displeasure with the coalition’s direction after she was relieved of her duties.
“When we appointed her, she saw us as big brothers. We were the good guys. However, when we decided to make changes, we became the bad guys,” he said.
He added that “many people asked why she was not disciplined” and said that “we chose to be patient”, adding that they thought she would realise her mistake but that “unfortunately, this did not happen”.
What do you think this dispute means for the UBP’s internal unity?