Nikos Christodoulides, a former foreign minister, was chosen by the people of Cyprus to be the country’s future leader, and his opponent conceded defeat and wished him well.
Christodoulides, 49, defeated fellow diplomat Andreas Mavroyiannis on Sunday on the divided Mediterranean island with 51.9 percent of the vote to 48.1 percent.
“Tonight a voyage has concluded, a fantastic adventure that I shared with thousands of people,” Mavroyiannis, 66, told reporters. I regret that we were unable to bring about the change Cyprus required.
As an independent candidate supported by the communist AKEL party, Christodoulides received 32 percent of the vote last week compared to Mavroyiannis’ 29.6 percent. Christodoulides previously belonged to the conservative ruling DISY party.
Christodoulides, who was widely regarded as the election favorite during the campaign, is expected to take a tough stance on the stalled United Nations-sponsored negotiations to end the island’s long-standing divide.
Christodoulides, a former top diplomat, had expressed optimism for success when he told reporters: “The Cypriot people know and comprehend what is at stake… They have my full trust in their judgment.
More over 405,000 people cast ballots, a small increase from the first round’s voter participation of 72.4 percent.
The cost of living problem, unauthorized immigration, and the island’s almost 50-year divide between the Greek-speaking south and a separatist statelet in the north that is occupied by Turks and recognized only by Ankara are among the top worries for many voters.
According to Andreas Theophanous of the Cyprus Center for European and International Affairs, many disgruntled voters simply looked for “the least worst candidate”—a trait that is present in most elections but is more pronounced in this one.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkish forces invaded its northern third in retaliation for a Greek-backed coup. However, voters didn’t seem to agree on whether the division should have been a top election concern.
Dora Petsa, a 75-year-old retiree, said she anticipates the incoming leader “to settle the Cypriot question.”
However, Louis Loizides, 51, claimed that the nation had “too many internal problems,” ranging from the economy to immigration, as a result of the enormous number of asylum seekers who have been admitted, many of whom have over the UN-patrolled Green Line.
For the first time in its history, the ruling DISY was eliminated from the presidential contest, and the conservative party’s choice to support neither candidate left the outcome of the runoff up in the air.
Last week, pre-election favorite Christodoulides defeated DISY leader Averof Neofytou, 61, who finished third with 26.11 percent in the first round despite receiving support from the incumbent.
By defeating Neofytou and reducing the distance with Christodoulides last week, Mavroyiannis stunned observers.
The next administration will face pressure to combat corruption, as well as rising energy costs, labor issues, and the weakening economy.
A woman named Vasso Pelekanou, 47, stated that the incoming president should assist the middle class since she feels that it was neglected by the previous administration.
The wealthy have gotten even richer, she claimed.
