Umut Ersoy, foreign relations secretary and Nicosia parliamentary candidate for Emekçinin Partisi Bağımsızlık Yolu (Independence Road), has laid out a detailed pro-labour platform as elections approach, pledging to bring grassroots struggles into the legislative chamber.
Ersoy's key policy demands include equalising the minimum wage with the lowest public sector salary, ending subcontracting in public institutions, banning unregistered employment, introducing a wealth tax on the ultra-rich to fund public health, education and transport, and nationalising the energy provider AKSA. He noted these positions have been consistent since the 2022 elections and expressed no concern that other parties have adopted similar rhetoric, stressing that what matters is the political will to implement such measures.
Criticising the tendency to reduce debates on corruption and meritocracy to mere mismanagement by the current government, Ersoy argued that the political and economic structure cannot be assessed independently of class relations and ties with Ankara-based interests. He called for open debate on imposed economic protocols, the lack of taxation on universities, and precarious working conditions. On the fake diploma controversy, he urged scrutiny not only of individual wrongdoers but also of the systemic pressures that force workers to fear for their jobs.
On press freedom, Ersoy said attacks on journalists are part of a long-standing pattern enabled by impunity. He recalled the 2018 attack on the Africa newspaper and called for legislative reforms to protect freedom of expression, reaffirming his party's solidarity with journalists.
Regarding the Cyprus problem, Ersoy criticised the silence of President Tufan Erhürman, the CTP and TDP in response to statements by Turkish politician Devlet Bahçeli opposing federation. He firmly rejected the notion that a foreign state's politician should have a say over the future of Turkish Cypriots, and pledged to keep the federal solution on the agenda throughout the election campaign.
"We are making a promise to struggle," Ersoy said, describing parliament as a tool rather than an end in itself. He emphasised that the party aims to make citizens active participants in solving their own problems, not merely voters, and pointed to the structural inequality that makes it difficult for private sector workers to even exercise their right to stand as candidates.
