Former foreign minister Nikos Christodoulides and former Cyprus reunification negotiator Andreas Mavroyiannis go head to head in Sunday’s presidential runoff amid a split in the ruling Democratic Rally (Disy) party, out of the race for the first time in its history, over its support for either candidate.
The Democratic Rally electorate seems essential for victory, hence both candidates have spent the last few days waiting for any message from outgoing president and Democratic Rally member, Nicos Anastasiades, in this regard, as reported by the ‘Cyprus Mail’.
Anastasiades, however, has remained silent. After depositing his ballot as soon as the polls opened, he has left the absolute decision on his successor in the hands of the Cypriot people.
«It is the duty of each one of us to support the new president. The majority decides and the minority respects. I call on the people to exercise their electoral right and duty,» said Anastasiades, accompanied by members of his family, after exercising his right to vote at the Laniteo Gymnasium in Limassol.
The ruling party is now divided between the two candidates, to the extent that senior officials of the party have already given their support to Mavroyiannis, such as Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides, despite the fact that the candidate was backed by the opposition, represented in the progressive workers’ party Akel.
Theoretically, Mavroyiannis — also a person very close at the time to Anastasiades — ran as an independent, but Akel decided to back his candidacy in the national interest, as explained last week by the secretary general of the communist formation, Stefanos Stefanou.
Christodoulides, for his part, has the backing of prominent members of Democratic Rally such as former Health Minister Constantinos Ioannou, Agriculture Minister Costas Kadis, veteran MP Nicos Tornaritis and Education Minister Prodromos Prodromou.
Disy’s official position at the moment is that it does not intend to endorse either of the two contenders. The party’s presidential candidate, Averof Neofytou, defeated in the debacle of the first round, assured in his personal capacity that he would not support Christodoulides, a former member of the party, whom he even declared a «traitor» for abandoning the party in pursuit of his presidential ambitions.
Be that as it may, the two candidates are running after a campaign focused on economic recovery to the detriment of political efforts for reunification with Northern Cyprus (the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus).
The country is still limping after the economic catastrophe of 2013 and the electorate has expressed its anger with high voter abstention rates; an act of apathy further fueled by their perception that both Christodoulides and Mavroyiannis are but an extension of the outgoing president.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
