Former FM wins presidential elections in Cyprus

Nikos Christodoulides was elected president of Cyprus in the second and final round of voting on February 12.

The former Cypriot foreign minister garnered 51.9 per cent support in a runoff vote that was much tighter than initially expected, according to results announced by the state broadcaster of Cyprus, according to Politico.

He was running against career diplomat Andreas Mavroyiannis who got 48.1 per cent of the vote. The inauguration ceremony will take place later on February 12 night.

Christodoulides, 49, comes from the ruling right-wing Democratic Rally party (DISY) but was running as an independent, with the backing of the centre and centre-right parties. Mavroyiannis, 66, a former chief negotiator in peace talks with Turkish Cypriots and a former permanent representative of Cyprus to the United Nations, was also running as an independent with the backing of the communist-rooted AKEL party.

The newly elected president will have difficult challenges over his five-year term: steering the country through evolving geopolitics; tackling growing financial woes and a surge in migration; improving a national image stained by corruption scandals; and finding a way to break a deadlock in the reunification talks on the ethnically split Cyprus. Christodoulides is considered a hard-liner regarding the Cyprus reunification issue.

“The reunification of our country is a top priority for me,” he said in his first comments after being elected.

Christodoulides consistently led all opinion polls during the election campaign, positioning himself as a candidate who can bridge party affiliations and unite the splintered electorate.

He succeeds outgoing conservative President Nicos Anastasiades, who has been at the helm of the Mediterranean island for a decade and by law could not seek a third term. Christodoulides has been one of Anastasiades’ closest associates, having served as his diplomatic adviser, government spokesman and then foreign minister.