LEFKOSA - A referendum will be held in Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) about United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan's plan on April 24, 2004.
A total of 143 thousand 638 Turkish Cypriot voters will cast their votes in 563 ballot boxes.
The number of voters, which was 141 thousand 479 in the general elections held on December 14, 2003, increased to 143 thousand 638 in the last four months.
Voting will start at 08.00 local time and end at 18.00 local time.
Unofficial results are expected to be announced at about 21.00 local time.
Voters will vote ''yes'' or ''no'' to the question in the ballots, ''do you approve the Foundation Agreement and all its appendixes, which will lead to a new order in which the Cyprus will become a member of the European Union (EU) as a whole, the Constitution of Turkish Cypriot State and the rules about the laws to be in force?''
TALAT: IT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO SOLVE CYPRUS PROBLEM WITHOUT TWO POSITIVE VOTES IN REFERENDUM
TRNC Prime Minister Mehmet Ali Talat said on Friday that both sides in Cyprus should vote 'yes' in referendum to find a lasting solution to the Cyprus question.
Talat held a press conference for foreign press members at TRNC Prime Ministry Office.
Noting that they were in a historical period, Talat said that Turkish side would display its will to form the United Cyprus Republic by voting 'yes' in referendum with a determined manner. He stressed that Greek Cypriot side should also vote 'yes' to solve Cyprus issue.
Noting that if Annan Plan was not accepted in spite of the efforts of TRNC, the responsibility would not belong to TRNC, Talat said, ''this time the responsible of failure will not be us, it will be international community and the Greek Cypriot side.''
When asked whether he expected some openings from international community to TRNC if the results of referendum became positive in Turkish side, Talat said, ''justice necessitates this'' and added, ''nobody has the right to punish one side while the other side is voting 'no'.''
Upon a question whether contacts would start for a new solution if Greek Cypriot side voted 'no', Talat said, ''this is a serious issue, it is not a game. We have seriously examined this plan, worked on it and discussed it. I think it won't be right to restart negotiations and consider to enter a new process just after the referendum.''
When said the Democrat Party (DP) had some concerns, and asked how this would affect TRNC government after the referendum, Talat said that they did not have any problems with coalition partners at the moment. He added that the DP had important contributions in negotiation process of the plan and recalled that they decided to act independently in referendum.
TALAT: AKEL DISAPPOINTED US
Talat said that Greek Cypriot government's big partner communist party AKEL, which announced that it would vote ''no'' in the referendum on April 24, disappointed them.
When asked whether AKEL disappointed him, Prime Minister Talat said, ''yes. Actually, AKEL is a political party struggling for finding a solution to the Cyprus issue and bringing the two nations in the island closer. When our efforts have reached the level of yielding results, AKEL's assuming a negative attitude disappointed us.''
Prime Minister Talat said, ''if a negative result is taken in the Greek Cypriot side, we do not plan to close the borders in the island.''
Upon a question about TRNC President Rauf Denktas' attitude, Prime Minister Talat said, ''earlier, President Denktas said several times that he would resign if a positive result was taken in the referendum. We expect him to stand behind his statement.
Stressing that they would face some difficulties in implementation of United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan's plan, Prime Minister Talat said, ''I believe that we can overcome these difficulties.''
Talat noted, ''if the Turkish Cypriot side votes 'yes' in the referendum, continuation of embargoes and isolation will be totally wrongful.''
When asked, ''do you understand those who want withdrawal of Turkish soldiers from the island?'' Prime Minister Talat told reporters, ''yes, I understand them. I think, however, they exaggerated it. They should think about Turkish Cypriot people's concerns. Turkish Cypriots experienced a bitter period between 1963 and 1974. They naturally want some guarantees. The Annan Plan envisages presence of 650 Turkish and 950 Greek soldiers in the island. It is a compromise.''

(AA) 23.04.2004