Nicosia, Feb. 13 (BNA): Former foreign minister Nikos Christodoulides was elected Cyprus’s new president in a run-off on Sunday, vowing to revive stalled reunification talks with dissident Turkish Cypriots and form a coalition government half of which would be women. positions in the Cabinet.
With 100% of the votes counted, Christodoulides won 51.9% of the vote and his rival, veteran diplomat Andreas Mavroyannis, got 48.1%, according to official election results. Mavroyannis conceded defeat before the votes were counted.
Christodoulides, 49, has campaigned as a unifying force for ethnically divided Cyprus, sidestepping ideological and partisan divides. Reuters reported that his message resonated with a wide range of voters.
“I look you all in the eye and I sincerely make this promise to you: I will do everything I can to appear worthy of your trust,” Christodoulides told the crowd on the victory march.
He made particular mention of the devastating earthquakes in Turkey and Syria. Turkish Cypriots, including members of the volleyball team, were among more than 33,000 people declared dead in the disaster as of Sunday.
“We share their mourning, and I want to assure them that we stand by them,” the president-elect said.
Mavroyannis, who previously served as Cyprus’ ambassador to the United Nations, has positioned himself as an agent of change, ushering in a new political era after a decade of rule by outgoing President Nicos Anastasiades.
He ran as an independent, but the support he received from the communist-rooted AKEL party, the second largest political party in the country, may have led swing voters to support Christodoulides.
Christodoulides seemed to have won the support of members of the Democratic Assembly (DISY), whose leader, Averof Neophyto, failed to reach the runoff. DISY’s leadership decided not to officially support either candidate and leave it up to members of the largest party in the country to vote as they saw fit.
Many DISY insiders blamed Christodoulides, a longtime party member, for running against Neophytou and splitting the party vote.
However, many did not want AKEL, Mavroyannis’ main backer, to regain a foothold in the government and feared that becoming the next president of Cyprus would threaten the country’s fragile economy and pro-Western course.
Critics blame Akal for driving Cyprus to the brink of bankruptcy a decade ago and for maintaining a pro-Moscow stance.
Amid bickering within Disi, Anastasiades, a former leader of the party, took the unusual step of issuing a statement suggesting that Disi members work to thwart an AKEL-backed government.
He urged party voters to protect the island’s western orientation and deepen its alliance with the United States
Christodoulides said he has already received congratulatory messages from world leaders including French President Emmanuel Macron and US Senator Robert Menendez, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Christodoulides said, “Our country’s European and Western orientation is our constant compass for tomorrow.”
In an attempt to mend relations with Christodoulides and the divisions within Desi, Neophyto said the president-elect could count on the party’s support “for the good of the country”.
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