NICOSIA (AP) — Breakaway Turkish Cypriots on ethnically divided Cyprus cast ballots Sunday in an election that many see as a choice between an even deeper alignment with Turkey or a shift toward closer ties with the rest of Europe.

There are some 218,000 registered voters. Polls close at 1500 GMT. Seven candidates are vying for the leadership spot but the main two contenders are the hard-right incumbent Ersin Tatar and the center-left Tufan Erhurman.

Tatar, 65, vociferously supports permanently dividing Cyprus by pursuing international recognition for a Turkish Cypriot state that will be aligned even closer to Turkey’s political, economic and social policies.

Tatar has taken his cue from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who repeated at the U.N. General Assembly last month that th

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