Former Cypriot Foreign Minister Nikos Christodoulides has won Sunday’s presidential election with 32.04% of the vote, but missed the threshold to secure an outright victory.
A runoff is set for February 12 against the candidate supported by the opposition, Andreas Mavroyiannis, who received 29.58% of the vote. Averof Neophytou, the leader of the ruling party, placed third with 26.11%.
Both Christodoulides and Mavroyiannis have connections to outgoing President Nicos Anastasiades, but Mavroyiannis presents himself as an agent of change, despite serving as Anastasiades’ chief negotiator in peace talks with Northern Cyprus.
The former Foreign Minister Christodoulides left his role to run as an independent candidate supported by centrist parties, while the Progressive Party of Working People backs Mavroyiannis as a diplomat running independently.
The two frontrunners have a week to win over the remaining voters and candidates.
Source: Reuters.
