Mayoral candidates step up their campaigns with just a week to go before the local elections this coming Sunday, December 25.

67 candidates are contesting for top seats at 18 municipalities.

Lefkoşa and Çatalköy have the highest number of candidates.

The countdown to the local elections is continuing as there is exactly now 6 days before voters head to the polls to elect their new mayors.

Thursday will be the last day candidates can hand out booklets, pamphlets or other election materials to voters.

Campaigning will end this Saturday, a day before the election takes place.

The local elections which should have taken place in June earlier this year had been postponed due to the amendments made to the municipalities’ law which had seen the country’s 28 municipalities reduced to 18 as part of a process to reform local administrations.

A total of 67 candidates are running for mayoral positions, 33 party nominated and 34 independent.

An overwhelming majority of candidates are male, 61 out of the 67.

962 party nominated and 2 independent candidates will also be running for the 220 municipal assembly or council seats.

Three of the mayor candidates are currently elected members of the Legislative Assembly of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC).

These are National Unity Party (UBP) MP Sadık Gardiyanoğlu, Republican Turkish Party (CTP) MP Sıla Usar and the Republican Turkish Party (CTP) MP Şifa Çolakoğlu.

A total of 208,236 are eligible to vote in the elections set to take place in a week’s time.