Former Foreign Minister Nikos Christodoulides was elected as the new President of Cyprus in Sunday’s election. His opponent, veteran diplomat Andreas Mavroyanninis, conceded defeat.
According to official results, with 99.5% of ballots counted, Christodoulides had 52% of the vote against Mayoriannis’ 48%.
Christodoulides campaigned as a unifying force, avoiding ideological and party divisions. His message resonated with a wide swath of voters.
Mavroyiannis established himself as an agent of change, ushering in a new political era after a decade of rule by outgoing President Nikos Anastasiades. But Mavroyiannis’ support of the Communist-origin AKEL party may have pushed swing voters toward Christoudoulides.
This is breaking news update. Below is an earlier AP story.
NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Exit polls for presidential elections in ethnically divided Cyprus showed a former foreign minister leading a career diplomat by a tight margin in the runoff vote on Sunday.
The former minister, Nikos Christodoulides, led by 50.5% to 53.5% against 46.5% to 49.5% for veteran diplomat Andreas Mavroyanis, according to exit polls by state broadcaster CyBC. Exit polls by four other private TV channels also put Christodoulides in the lead.
Christodoulides campaigned as a unifying force, setting aside ideological and party divisions, while Mavroyanis positioned himself as an agent of change, ushering in a new political era after a decade of rule by outgoing President Nikos Anastasiades. .
Exit polls suggested that Christodoulides influenced enough voters of the Largest Democratic Rally (DISY) party, whose leader Averof Neofitou failed to make it into the runoff. The DISY leadership decided not to formally back any candidates and left it to members to vote as they saw fit.
Many DISY party insiders blamed longtime party member Christodoulides for running against Neophytos and splitting the party vote.
However, many do not want the communist-rooted AKEL, Mavroyiannis’ main supporter, to gain a foothold in the government and fear that becoming the next president of Cyprus would threaten the country’s fragile economy and pro-Western trajectory.
Critics blame AKEL for bringing Cyprus to the brink of bankruptcy a decade ago and maintaining a pro-Moscow slant.
Mavroyiannis denied suggestions that he would shape economic policies according to AKEL’s directives.
Amid discord within DISY, a former party leader, Anastasiades, took the unusual step of issuing a statement suggesting that DISY members should work to thwart the AKEL-backed government.
He urged the party’s voters to preserve the island’s western orientation and its deepening alliance with the US and maintain fiscal discipline while effectively dealing with the influx of irregular immigrants.
According to official figures, some 561,000 citizens were eligible to vote and the turnout for the runoff was 72.2%, slightly higher than the first round of voting.
The new president will face the tough challenge of trying to revive stalled peace talks with post-Brexit Turkish Cypriots, who declared independence nearly a decade after the 1974 Turkish invasion that followed the coup with Greece .
Both Christodoulides and Mavroyiannis were close confidants of Anastasiades during the last failed peace operation in a Swiss resort in 2017. Both pointed to Turkey’s insistence on maintaining a permanent military presence and military intervention rights in a reunified Cyprus as the main reason for the negotiated settlement.
Christodoulides has said he draws the line on those two Turkish demands, while Mavroyiannis softened his stance to woo left-wing voters who think more could have been done in Switzerland to reach an agreement.
“The candidacy of Mr. Christodoulides is an opportunity for the Cypriot people to turn the page with a new type of governance, with a humanitarian aim above all else,” said 58-year-old voter Neophytos Makrides after casting his vote in Paphos. said during “No to corruption and in favor of a correct solution to the Cyprus problem.”