Editor TLN
5 Feb. () –
The former Cypriot Foreign Minister Nikos Christodoulides has won the presidential elections this Sunday, but he has fallen far short of the necessary threshold to avoid a second round, which will be held next Sunday, February 12.
Christodoulidis obtained more than 31 percent of the votes, according to the scrutiny already practically concluded. A former member of the government party, Agrupación Democrática, he was now presenting himself as an independent candidate after causing a schism in the party.
In second position, with more than 29 percent of the votes, is the candidate supported by the opposition Akel, Andreas Mavroyiannis, who will also be in the final vote. Averof Neophytou, leader of the government party, is left out after obtaining just over 26 percent, according to official data broadcast on public television.
The three main candidates are perceived as an extension of the outgoing president, Nicos Anastasiades, who leaves power after two terms in office. Although Mavroyiannis runs with the backing of the opposition, he served as Anastasiades’ main negotiator in the talks to resolve the historic conflict with Northern Cyprus, the ‘de facto’ state – called the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus – only recognized by Turkey .
