NICOSIA: Turkish-held northern Cyprus, a breakaway state recognised only by Ankara, voted Sunday for a new leader, amid charges of meddling by Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The election pitted the incumbent and favourite, Mustafa Akinci, who supports the eventual reunification of Cyprus as an EU member, against right-wing nationalist Ersin Tatar, who is backed by Erdogan.

Preliminary estimates from the electoral commission predicted Tatar won more than 33 percent of the votes, followed by Akinci with around 28 percent.

If, as expected, no candidate wins at least 50 percent, the two leading candidates will face off in a second round on October 18. The presidential vote in the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus was held amid heightened tensions on the divided island and in the wider eastern Mediterranean, and with precautions against the spread of Covid-19. The commission said 55 percent of the almost 199,000-electorate had voted by 5 pm (1400 GMT), an hour before polls closed. "This election is crucial for our destiny," Akinci said after casting his ballot, complaining of Turkish political meddling. The vote came three days after Turkish troops angered the Republic of Cyrus, an EU member, and many Turkish Cypriots, by reopening public access to the fenced-off seaside ghost town of Varosha for the first time since Turkish forces invaded the north in 1974.

That move sparked demonstrations in the majority Greek-speaking Republic of Cyprus, which exercises its authority over the island's southern two thirds, separated from the north by a UN-patrolled buffer zone.