Former Cypriot Foreign Minister Nikos Christodoulides has won Sunday’s presidential election, but fell short of the threshold needed to avoid a runoff, which will be held next Sunday, February 12.
Christodoulidis won more than 31 percent of the vote, according to the almost completed count. A former member of the ruling Democratic Rally party, he was now running as an independent candidate after causing a schism in the party.
In second place, with more than 29 percent of the votes, is the candidate backed by the opposition Akel, Andreas Mavroyiannis, who will also be on the final ballot. Averof Neophytou, leader of the ruling party, is out, after obtaining slightly more than 26 percent, according to official data released by public television.
The three main candidates are perceived as an extension of outgoing President Nicos Anastasiades, who is leaving office after two terms in office. Although Mavroyiannis is running with the backing of the opposition, he served as Anastasiades’ chief negotiator in talks to resolve the historic conflict with Northern Cyprus, the ‘de facto’ state — called the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus — only recognized by Turkey.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
