In Cyprus, voters will have to decide between two diplomats in the second round of the presidential election. The former Minister of Foreign Affairs, from 2018 to 2022, Nikos Christodoulides, supported by the centrist parties, indeed came first in the first round on Sunday, ahead of another diplomat supported by the Communist Party.
With 32.04% of the vote, Nikos Christodoulides will face in the second round on February 12 Andreas Mavroyiannis, who won 29.58% of the vote. Averof Neofytou, 61, comes out of the race. With 26.11% of the vote, he suffered an unprecedented failure for a leader of a ruling party, the conservative Disy party. In fourth position, the far-right party Elam won 6% of the vote.
Christodoulides wants “a government with a broader horizon”
“Cyprus has spoken. (The country) spoke clearly,” Nikos Christodoulides said on Sunday evening. “I remain faithful to my desire for a government with a broader horizon. We don’t exclude anyone. His opponent in the second round had already said that he refused any coalition with the far right.
The roughly 561,000 Greek-Cypriot voters, concerned about corruption scandals and runaway inflation on their island divided for nearly half a century, had a choice of 14 candidates to succeed 76-year-old right-wing President Nicos Anastasiades. years. Turnout reached 72.03%, slightly higher than in the 2018 presidential election.
An island divided since 1974
Favorite of the ballot, Nikos Christodoulides, 49, called on Sunday for “unity”, the only way according to him to “really meet the expectations of the Cypriot people”. Supported by the centrist parties, he presents himself as an “independent” candidate.
Andreas Mavroyiannis, 66, supported by the communist party Akel, is the former chief negotiator in the reunification talks (2013-2022). A member of the European Union since 2004, Cyprus has been divided since the 1974 invasion by Turkey of the northern third of the island, in response to a coup d’etat by Cypriot-Greek nationalists who wanted to attach the country to Greece. . Reunification talks have stalled since 2017.
Inflation, corruption and immigration
First challenge for the future leader: inflation, which reached 10.9% in 2022. Despite a slowdown in January, to 7.1%, the rise in prices, particularly of energy and food, remains in head of concern and the country experienced a general strike at the end of January.
The fight against corruption also dominated the campaign. It “is at the heart of the debate, like the economy and everyday life. The problem of Cyprus (the division of the island) is a secondary subject”, believes Giorgos Kentas, professor at the University of Nicosia. The influx of migrants is another sensitive subject on this Mediterranean island. Authorities claim that 6% of the 915,000 people living in the south of the island are asylum seekers.